Practicum/Internship:
Practicum and internship students will have the opportunity to be involved in every aspect of the operations of Athletics Communications.  These can include working at home events, preparing materials, statistics and photographs for use on the JMUSports.com website, recording and research of statistics, and preparing information for use by members of the news media.  For students with writing proficiency, assignments can include preparing game program copy, game/event stories, game/event previews, materials used in recruiting prospective student athletes, etc.  Candidates should be dependable and pay close attention to detail.  Those who wish to be involved in working home events should be prepared to work nights and weekends. 

Contact: John Martin, Brian Hansen, Milla Sue Wisecarver or Kevin Warner - See below.

Positions specific to Assistant AD-Communications John A. Martin, 568-5571, martinja@jmu.edu

Availability:  Fall - 4 to 6 positions, Spring - 3 to 4 positions, Summer - hired on as-needed basis

Hours: Generally six hours per week, preferably in two blocks of three hours each.  Hours can also include games depending on student's designated responsibilities/interests.

Purpose: Assist supervisor with day-to-day operations of JMU Athletics Communications Office while also gaining insight and experience of the profession.  Duties will vary from student to student based on specific skill sets and his/her desires for work experience and may or may not involve working JMU athletic events.

Sports: Sports the practicum student may work with include football and men's and women's golf as primary efforts, while possibly assisting with others as needed.

Possible Assignments: The following is a sampling of tasks assigned to practicum students. (F=fall sem., S=spring sem., Su= summer)

• F/S/Su: Management of photographs; including identifying subjects of photos, rating quality of photos, preparing photos for use on JMUSports.com.
• F/S/Su: Updating athlete biographies on JMUSports.com.
• F/S/Su: Editing "Getting to Know You" Q&A with incoming athletes for JMUSports.com.
• F/S: Updating schedule/results and rosters on JMUSports.com
• F/S: Assisting with in-game statistics at home football games
• F/S: Working on setup/teardown at home football games
• F/S: Assisting with compilation of golf statistics throughout the year
• F/S: Only for students who exhibit expertise in writing: Writing post-athletic event stories or weekly notes, primarily for JMUSports.com. Examples of this type of writing are available on JMUSports.com (news section).
• F/S/Su: Only for students who exhibit expertise in writing: Writing feature stories for publication or JMUSports.com
• F/S: Compiling game notes
• F/S/Su: Updating/composing recruiting guides
• F/S/Su: Updating/composing sport record books
• F/S/Su: Career statistical updating for all sports utilizing StatCrew (when appropriate)

Requirements

• Interest in sports and more specifically in sport communication - best fit for Athletic Communications practicum positions are sport communication minors and/or majors in sport management, communication, journalism, or SMAD
• Ability to work evenings and weekends if responsibilities include game coverage
• Detail-oriented
• Flexible, ability to adapt to changing responsibilities
• Multitasking

Positions specific to Athletics Communications Associate Brian Hansen - 540-7910, hansenbj@jmu.edu

Availability:  Fall - 2 to 3 positions, Spring - 2 to 3 positions, Summer - hired as needed

Hours:  Six hours a week, 2 to 3 days a week.  Depending on applicant's interest, hours can also include games.

Sports:  In the fall, practicum students will primarily work with sports of field hockey and volleyball.  Spring applicants will work with softball, as well as swimming and diving.

Responsibilities:  Will vary depending on the students interests/skills

• Updating athlete bios on JMUSports.com
• Identify, organize, sort and manage photos
• Updating JMUSports.com including schedules/results/stats/rosters
• Compiling/updating game notes
• Producing game programs
• Writing game previews (for those students interested in writing)
• Special interest/Feature stories
• Updating recruiting guides
• Record book upkeep
• Career statistical updating
• In-game statistics (if interested)
• Setup/teardown at designated sporting events

Requirements:

• Interest in sports, specifically someone interested in sport communications
• Ability to work evenings and weekends on occasion
• Multi-tasking
• Strong writing skills preferred

Positions specific to Assistant Athletics Communications Director Milla Sue Wisecarver- wisecams@jmu.edu

Work Dates:  Any semester or summer session

Basic Function:  Assist with the day-to-day operations of the Athletics Communications office.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Will vary and will be developed to match the talents of the practicum student and his/her desires for work experience
• Sports the practicum student may work with include m&w soccer in the fall, women's basketball and lacrosse in the spring.

Examples of Responsibilities:  (F=fall sem., S=spring sem., Su= summer)

• F/S/Su: Management of photographs; including identifying subjects of photos, rating quality of photos, preparing photos for use on JMUSports.com.
• F/S/Su: Updating athlete biographies on JMUSports.com.
• F/S/Su: Editing "Getting to Know You" Q&A with incoming athletes for JMUSports.com.
• F/S: Only for students who exhibit expertise in writing: Writing post-athletic event stories or weekly notes, primarily for JMUSports.com. Examples of this type of writing are available on JMUSports.com (news section).
• F/S: Updating sport records following the completion of season competition.
• F/Su: Only for students who exhibit expertise in writing: Writing incoming athlete biographies for JMUSports.com. Examples of this type of writing are available on JMUSports.com (rosters section, click on athlete name).
• F: Keeping statistics at home games for soccer
• S: Women's basketball home game equipment setup at JMU Convocation Center
• S: Women's basketball home game courtside telephone management
• S: Keeping statistics at home games for lacrosse
• S: Organizing a Word document Records Book for m&w soccer and lacrosse
• S: Only for students who exhibit expertise in writing: Writing game program material for women's basketball. These are game preview stories. Examples of this type of writing are available on JMUSports.com (news section).

Requirements:

• For those who choose to work at home events, available to work evenings and weekends
• Detail-oriented
• Flexible; ability to work in an ever-changing environment
• Strong desire to work in both athletics and athletics communication

Positions specific to Associate Director for Athletic Communications, Kevin Warner - warnerka@jmu.edu

Availability: Fall - 3 to 4 positions, Spring - 3 to 5 positions, Summer - hired on as-needed basis

Hours: Generally six hours per week, preferably in two blocks of three hours each.  Hours can also include games depending on student's designated responsibilities/interests.

Purpose: Assist supervisor with day-to-day operations of JMU athletic communications office while also gaining insight and experience of the profession.  Duties will vary from student to student based on specific skill sets and interests and may or may not involve working JMU athletic events.

Sports: With few exceptions, practicum students will primarily work with the sports of baseball and men's basketball.

Possible Assignments: The following is a sampling of tasks assigned to practicum students.

• Photo management - Includes identification, sorting, web management, etc.
• Athlete bios on JMUSports.com, including personality questionnaires
• Updating schedule/results and rosters on JMUSports.com
• In-game statistics at designated sporting events
• Setup/teardown at designated sporting events
• Public address announcing (for select students who show interest)
• Game stories/post-game interviews (for select students with exceptional writing abilities)
• Game programs
• Writing game previews
• Feature stories
• Compiling game notes
• Updating/composing recruiting guides
• Updating/composing sport record books
• Career statistical updating for all sports

Requirements:

• Interest in sports and more specifically in sport communication - best fit for practicum positions are sport communication minors and/or majors in sport management, communication, journalism, or SMAD
• Ability to work evenings and weekends if responsibilities include game coverage
• Detail-oriented
• Flexible, ability to adapt to changing responsibilities
• Multitasking