ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the unique realities of sport as a cultural form for students looking to enter the field and the skills they should work on before graduation to succeed in the industry. Sports public relations professionals have the primary task of creating strong bonds between their organization and fans through face-to-face and mediated communication. Day-to-day, sports public relations professionals work to generate publicity for the organization in a multitude of ways. A great deal of sports public relations work involves face-to-face communication. Public relations professionals may have to smooth over sensitive local issues. Sports public relations professionals may have to write internal documents for senior management or conduct surveys of employee satisfaction. The experience and knowledge of fans also present challenges for public relations professionals. Fans often have deep, lifelong connections with sports teams, cultivated through relationships with friends and families, at bars and pubs and tailgates.
