Chris Freet is the Assistant Director of Athletics and Communications at the University of South Florida. He oversees all communications efforts for USF Athletics, including their website, social media, public relations, and statistics. The mission of USF Athletics is to sponsor competitive NCAA Division I programs that promote excellence in academics, athletics, and personal development. Freet's department includes 4 full-time employees, 2 interns, and varying student staff who carry out tasks like recording statistics, designing graphics, and coordinating social media and interviews.

1. University of South Florida Athletics

2. Chris FreetAssistant Director ofAthletics and CommunicationsChris Freet came to the Univeristy of South Florida in 2007 from the University of Oklahoma. Among his accomplishments, he redesigned GoUSFBulls.com, the official website for the Athletics Department. Freet oversees all communications efforts, which is public relations. He works on the social media sites, mobile connectivity, interviews, and statistics, among other various tasks.

3. Mission Statement “The USF Department of Athletics provides leadership for the University of South Florida’s NCAA Division I Intercollegiate Athletics programs. Consistent with the larger institutional mission, the Department is committed to sponsoring a competitive program of intercollegiate athletics for men and women that fosters excellence in competition, in the classroom, and toward the development of the whole person. Our vision is nothing less than to position each intercollegiate team and every student-athlete to compete for national championships, and to become a model program by every measure used to gauge Division I athletic success: titles, trophies, and championships; graduating student-athletes’ who are well prepared for post collegiate success; building character and leadership; and generating positive publicity and exposure for the University of South Florida and its host communities.”

4. A Director’s PerspectiveMr. Freet’s personal objective is to provide the best experience for student athletes that challenges academic and personal growth. He wanted to express his vision that “we have our own information, we are going to speak to the media from our own point of view and let the media tell it that way.”

5. Communications Work and PersonnelRecording statisticsRetail countsGraphic designingSocial media and mobile connectivityNew mediaVideo servicesWebsite4 full-time employees, 2 full-time interns 4 employees paid with benefits2 interns paid without benefitsStudent staff varies

6. Typical Activities9 AM staff meeting starts off the dayChance to discuss issues, concerns, and challenges as a teamOther typical activities include: telephone answering, e-mail responding, coordinating interviews, research, preparing game notes and information for a TV spot.

7. Targeted PublicsUSF StudentsParents of USF studentsUSF AlumniRecruiters for the different sportsResidents of the Tampa Bay AreaSports networks like ESPN and ESPNU

8. Social MediaFacebook Most important outlet for social mediaTwitterMore for industry professionalsYouTubeNot utilized as often as Facebook or Twitter due to multimedia area on website

9. Research ToolsFocus groupsSurveysQuestionnairesInteracting with targeted publics

10. Crisis ManagementFollows same plan for the universityHow to safely evacuate everyone and strategically handle situationsMost important aspect is to always keep leadership updated Also important to protect the parties involved, as well as the university

11. WebsiteIncorporates school colors Includes various graphics, corporate sponsors and advertisementsEach sport has it’s own pageRosters, schedules, player bios, etc.Multimedia areaVideos, interviews, pictures, etc.Student section, news section, team store, social connectivity section

12. TimelineJune of 1965First intercollegiate sporting eventSoccer game against Florida Southern; USF was victoriousAdmitted into NCAA in March of 1968December 4, 1970First basketball game, victorious over UF, 85-78First event in Sun Dome was basketball game; USF lost to FAMU 64-66

13. Timeline (cont.)Baseball team won Sun Belt championship in 1982Basketball team won Sun Belt championship in 1990First football game in 199780-3 victory at Raymond James Stadium over Kentycky WesleyanEntered NCAA Divioin 1-A football in 2000Admitted into Big East in 2003

14. Conclusion Chris Freet gave a great explanation on what he does at the USF Athletics Department, as well as the path he took to get there. His final quote in the interview was, “It’s a wild world,” and from his stories about his duties, that is the perfect way to describe his work.

15. GO BULLS

16. PowerPoint Presentation by: D’Anna Fiorelli, Arielle Cohn, Claudia Murati, and Jaime VaughanPUR3000 ;; Summer 2010

17. Bibliography

18. Survey- http://www.allea.org/Content/ALLEA/images/Evaluatin_survey.jpgFocus group- http://npowerconsultants.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/FocusGroup01.42143107.jpgGo bulls- http://friarsbasketball.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/usf.jpgStaff meeting- http://suttermedicalcentercastrovalley.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/business-meeting-photo.jpgChris bio- http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1447515BJ- http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Cincinnati+v+South+Florida+UE7A4jjGYa5l.jpgCheerleaders- http://images.dailyradar.com/media/uploads/ballhype/story_large/2009/10/28/wv_vs_usf_football_picks.jpgUsf bulls- http://blog.islandcasino.com/ic/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/usf-logo.gifRocky- http://cdn.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/dd21c83e-2275-4cfc-a335-2e40857d1df2/d4461824-987a-401a-8469-83dbd4d5ef7b/Image/506ad4fa1b5bf1705e049718bde5d0e7.jpgESPN- http://www.billiardphilippines.com/billiards/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/espn_logo.jpgESPNU- http://caro.officialpsds.com/images/thumbs/ESPNU-logo-psd5730.pngTampa- http://www.visit-tampa-bay.com/tampa-bay-area-1.jpgSports stats- http://www.foxsportsstats.com.au/Images/stats.jpgCrisis- http://www.smarts.co.uk/Scotland/images/stories/services/crisis_management.jpgSoccer- http://www.suffolksyaa.com/images/j0433156.jpgNCAA- http://www.uwsp.edu/athletics/fanclub/backcourt/ncaa_logo.gifBig East- http://villanovansports.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/big-east.jpgBaseball- http://moranmustangs.org/michaelt/files/2010/01/baseball1.jpgFootball- http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Sports/images-2/football.jpgBasketball- http://weblogs.cltv.com/features/health/livinghealthy/ball.jpg

19. [Untitled Photograph of Facebook logo]. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from: http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/2010/06/07/facebook-logo.png[Untitled Photograph of Twitter logo]. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from:http://www.ynpn.org/s/936/images/editor/Twitter_logo.jpg[Untitled Photograph of YouTube logo]. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from: http://www.ciudaddelosninos.com.pe/img/youtube-logo.jpg