The Columbus State University Sports Information Department works to promote CSU Athletics in the community, state, region and nation.
Duties of the office include writing press releases and feature stories about CSU Athletics, coordinating media relations and game day staffing for all home athletic events, writing and producing special publications, the oversight of the department's social media strategy and maintenance, filming and editing of promotional and highlight videos, upkeep of CSUCougars.com, record keeping and the production of every home athletic webcast.
Media Relations Policies
Media access will be issued at the discretion of the Columbus State University (CSU) Sports Information office. Access may be provided to working members of the media to assist in the coverage of CSU Athletics. Please directly contact the CSU Sports Information department via email to request clearance for media access at our venues no less than 48 hours in advance.
Media access may be granted to working members of the media representing recognized media outlets in the business of news gathering/sports reporting as a primary function of their business. Eligible outlets include newspapers, websites, magazines, wire services, television, and radio.
Photographers/Videographers are not permitted to record/shoot unannounced with the intent of personally selling photos/videos. Unauthorized recording/shooting from the court/field may result in removal from the venue. Freelancers will not be given access unless contracted by an eligible media organization, visiting team, or other campus-related entities.
Media access will not typically be issued to representatives whose outlet exists solely as a platform for distributing unoriginal or aggregated content. In accordance with NCAA policy, media access will not be issued to any outlet whose primary coverage is gambling or bookmaking.
Space is limited in the press boxes at Cougar Field, Burger King Stadium and the Walden Soccer Complex, and is prioritized for Sports Information staff, live audio, video broadcast personnel, print writers and photographers.
Interview Requests
All interviews with Columbus State University coaches, student-athletes or staff must be coordinated through the Sports Information office. To request an interview, contact
Clayton Barefield. Interviews may be conducted over the phone or in person. Student-athletes and coaches will be made available to the media following a 10-minute cooling off period after each competition.
Parking
Media covering events at the Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center, Cougar Field or Burger King Stadium can park in the marked media spaces on Cougar Court. Overflow parking is available in the CSU parking deck or on surface lots next to the Mary V. Blackmon Tennis Center and behind left field of Burger King Stadium. Media members are asked to use the parking lots at the Walden Soccer Complex and John W. Walden CSU Tennis Complex when covering soccer and tennis.
Photo Requests
Columbus State can provide high resolution images to recognized media outlets for news purposes upon request. Media in need of specific photo assets may contact
Clayton Barefield at
barefield_clayton@columbusstate.edu or
Anne Appleton at
appleton_anne@columbusstate.edu to make a request.
Social Media Guide
To review the CSU Sports Information Social Media Guide, please click
here.
CURRENT CSU STUDENT-ATHLETES
Please fill out a CSU Sports Information questionnaire that will help generate your student-athlete bio. For the form, please click
here.
