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Media Relations Contacts
John Sudsbury, 504-828-2440, Cell 504-427-7076, johns@sugarbowl.org
Melissa Stoltz, 504-828-2440, melissas@sugarbowl.org
Media Headquarters
New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center
859 Convention Center Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70130
Credential Pick-up at Media Hotel
Fleur De Lis Room
Saturday, Dec. 26, 3-6 p.m.
Dec. 27-31, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Jan. 1 (Game Day), 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
BCS Media Credentialing Policy
(Updated 9/1/09)
To ensure that all qualified media agencies have the appropriate access, these policies have been developed by the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision commissioners, the Notre Dame athletics director and the BCS bowl games. The policies will be strictly enforced at the BCS National Championship Game. At the other BCS bowl games, the host media coordinators may authorize additional credentials for all areas except the sidelines, if space allows.
Requests for all working media credentials for all Bowl Championship Series games shall be directed to the host media director. The deadline for applying is the second Friday after selection Sunday.
A "press agency" for purposes of these criteria shall mean a daily or weekly publication, cable system, radio or television station or network requiring immediate news coverage. "Immediate news coverage" for purposes of these criteria shall mean that the editorial, audio and/or visual deadline for the bowl game action being documented occurs no later than 48 hours after the competition at the site has been completed.
Membership in a writers or broadcasters association does not automatically qualify an agency or individual for credentials.
An individual holding a credential is subject to removal from the stadium for violating BCS credential policies.
Except for television camera operators, a credential may be issued only to an authorized full-time, salaried representative of, or a representative who regularly and customarily performs services for, the agency submitting the request. Credentials are not transferable.
Subject to limitations of space and at the host media director's discretion, credentials at all sites shall be assigned in accordance with the following policies:
PRINT
Separate publications sharing common ownership may not be combined for purposes of meeting circulation or other criteria.
1. A daily agency with circulation greater than 50,000, a weekly with circulation greater than 500,000 or a monthly with circulation greater than 750,000 will be identified as "national media" and will qualify for credentials. Press agencies may receive credentials according to the following circulation requirements:
Daily Circulation Credentials
50,000 - 99,999 one seat
100,000 - 199,999 two seats
200,000-299,999 three seats
300,000-499,000 four seats
500,000-699,999 five seats
700000 and above six seats
Weekly Circulation Credentials
500,000-3 million two seats
3 million and above three seats
Monthly Circulation Credentials
750,000-3 million two seats
3 million and above three seats
An agency that has covered all of a participating institution's regular-season games will be entitled to additional seats if space is available.
2. An agency that does not meet Criterion No. 1 qualifies for credentials if a full-time staff member has covered all of the participating institution's regular-season games. Such an agency can receive one more than the number of credentials it used for a majority of the institution's regular-season games, plus additional seats if space is available.
A specialty publication that covers college football and does not meet the criteria listed above may be eligible for one credential at the discretion of the host bowl's media director.
3. The Associated Press and the primary newspaper(s) that provide daily coverage at the site of the bowl game may receive a maximum of eight seats.
4. At the media director's discretion, a maximum of two credentials may be issued to reporters representing the non-sports side of the major newspaper that covers all regular-season games of the participating institution.
5. At the media director's discretion, a maximum of two credentials may be issued to reporters representing the non-sports side of the major newspaper in the host city.
6. Credentials may be issued to a maximum of three individuals certified by the director of athletics or designated representative of each participating institution, who will be the sole representatives of all media organizations affiliated with such institution and all media organizations whose coverage primarily is directed at such institution and its activities. STILL PHOTOGRAPHY
Sports editors shall request all credentials. Most media agencies will be limited to a maximum of two credentials.
Subject to limitations of space, credentials for photo staff members shall be assigned to agencies requiring immediate news coverage in accordance with the following priorities:
Photographers
1. A maximum of four photographers certified by the director of athletics or designated representative of each participating institution, who will be the sole representatives of all media organizations affiliated with any such institution and all media organizations whose coverage primarily is directed at such institution and its activities.
2. Each institution's athletics department may be represented by a maximum of three photographers.
3. The primary press agencies at the host site of a Bowl Championship Series game that cover college football on a regular basis may receive a maximum of four credentials.
4. The Associated Press may receive a maximum of 12 credentials. Sports Illustrated and USA Today each may receive a maximum of six credentials. Reuters may receive a maximum of four. The Sporting News and ESPN The Magazine may receive a maximum of three credentials. National photo services and agencies such as Wire Image, and Getty Images may receive a maximum of two credentials, at the discretion of the host meda director.
5. A participating institution may receive four credentials for media agencies that do not meet the minimum daily or weekly circulation requirements. These agencies shall be certified by the director of athletics or designated representative of the participating institution to have staffed at least 80 percent of its games throughout the season.
6. A press agency with a minimum daily circulation of 350,000, a weekly circulation of 500,000, or a monthly circulation of one million may receive one credential.
7. A specialty publication that covers college football and does not meet the criteria listed above may be eligible for one credential at the discretion of the host media director.
8. For access to the sidelines, photographers must wear vests provided by the bowl.
Photo Couriers, Editors and Technicians
A media entity requiring credentials for immediate news coverage may be granted credentials for couriers, editors and/oir technicians subject to the media coordinator's discretion.
TELEVISION
(See below for the definition of a crew.)
1. A television station or regional cable network from the locale of a Bowl Championship Series game may be represented by a maximum of two crews.
2. A television station or regional cable network from the locale of the participating institution, which has staffed all of its regular-season games, or a conference's television network (e.g., Big Ten Network), may be represented by a maximum of two crews.
3. A regional television network that airs a nightly sports show and covers all of a team's games during the regular season may be represented by one crew.
4. Each division (i.e., the sports, news, entertainment and affiliate divisions) from a national television network or cable system that originates a daily sports news program (e.g., Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, CNN) may be represented by one crew. The NFL Network may be represented by one crew.
5. A television station in a market area estimated to have a minimum of one million U.S. television households the previous year by the A.C. Nielsen Company may be represented by one crew.
6. At the discretion of the host media director, no more than two credentials may be authorized to other news services that have news and sports programming.
7. Each participating institution may be represented by a maximum of one crew for a "coach's show."
For all purposes in Nos. 1 through 5 in this section, a crew is defined as no more than four individuals, including one photographer.
RADIO
1. National radio networks may be authorized to have one credential at the discretion of the host media director.
2. A maximum of two credentials (one media and one limited access) may be assigned to a radio station that regularly covers college football games and has a daily "sports talk" program in a market area representing at least one million radio homes.
3. Two credentials may be assigned to a radio station in the geographic area of (1) the host city game or (2) a participating team that regularly covers college football games (i.e., full-time staff members attend games and file reports) and airs six or more sports reports each day.
4. One media credential may be assigned to each of the following radio entities: ABC, AP, CBS, CNN Radio, Echlin Sports Service, ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, NBC, National Public Radio, Sirius/XM, Sporting News Radio, Sports Byline USA, USA Radio Network, Voice of America, and Westwood One.
5. A radio network that will originate a live play-by-play broadcast is entitled to the number of individuals it used to originate games during the most recently completed regular season. Entities that produce national radio broadcasts under rights assigned through the national television rightsholder shall be limited to a maximum of eight credentials.
ONLINE MEDIA
1. A maximum of two credentials may be issued to the BCS web site and to the web sites of the television network that holds rights to broadcast the game.
2. One credential may be issued to an online agency that (1) registers at least one million unique users per month in each of the 12 months before the game and (2) covers college football daily.
3. The official web site of a competing institution, as designated by the school's sports information director, may receive a maximum of two credentials in addition to the institution's credentials noted elsewhere in this policy.
4. A print, radio or television agency will not receive more credentials than the number provided for elsewhere in this document. An agency may allot one (or more) of its credentials to its online entity.
5. An online entity that does not meet the other criteria herein qualifies for credentials if a full-time staff member has covered all of the participating institution's regular-season games. Such an entity can receive one more than the number of credentials it used for a majority of the institution's regular-season games, plus additional seats if space is available.
6. An online entity may receive a credential only if its own full-time staff members write an overwhelming percentage of that site's material.
7. Online entities will not receive photography credentials.
8. An online service that is recognized as an outlet intended primarily for the purpose of delivering news related to the recruitment of student-athletes does not qualify for credentials.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
When space is available, credentials will be issued to a full-time, salaried employee or a representative who regularly and customarily performs services for:
1. A newspaper that has a minimum circulation of five percent of the total population of the country;
2. A specialty publication that has a minimum circulation of one percent of the total population of the country;
3. The official publication of the country's football organization;
4. A television station that has a signal reaching 25 percent of the homes in the country;
5. Each of the two largest sports networks in the country, and
Each of the media agencies above may also be assigned a photography position at the discretion of the host media coordinator.
Agencies Not Eligible
Credentials shall not be issued to the following:
1. Persons solely for the purpose of writing or gathering material for books;
2. Representatives of syndicated television or cable programmers who are not producing programs for immediate news coverage (i.e., to air within 24 hours);
3. Telephone reporting services;
4. Entities normally identified as "tout sheets," and other publications devoted solely to gambling;
5. Scouts from professional teams; (Instead, the bowls will offer to sell tickets to the professional league office if requested and if tickets are available, with the understanding that the professional league will distribute the tickets to the teams as it wishes.)
6. Agencies that normally provide specific services for a media agency (e.g., scores) if many of its clients have been accredited to staff the event.
August 2009 |
