University of North Carolina Athletics
All ACCess BACCstage Pass: Steve Kirschner
March 12, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2000
By Stacy Gabel TheACC.com
Throughout the 2000 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, we will take a look at the league, the personalities, and the tournament through the eyes of those behind the scenes, behind the cameras, and behind the keyboards in Charlotte. It will be first-hand account of the nation's premier college basketball conference event through the eyes of those who plan it, cover it, and see it up close. We are giving you a set of BACCSTAGE Passages.
The players, coaches and fans are not the only ones that hope and pray for success at the ACC Tournament. Behind the blue curtain in the corner of the arena, there is a group of nine others who have spent numerous hours preparing for success. The university Sport Information Directors (or SID's) are internally, the individuals responsible for the team news we all hear and read about everyday.
University of North Carolina SID Steve Kirschner has attended 11 ACC tournaments and actually sees very little of the competition on the court. He, as well as the other eight SID's serve as the liaison between their teams and the media. "My job is to paint the picture of our program to all the media and find a way to show them, here is what this team is all about," Kirschner states. The Sports Information Directors are on site to answer any of the media's questions about the program, regarding streaks, records, and history. However, the Sports Information Directors also aid coaches and players in the interviews they encounter with the media
As Kirschner indicates, the most difficult job for a Sports Information Director during a big tournament is when their team loses. "We still have to do our job even though you're obviously disappointed. Tension is high and emotions are strong and you have to react very professionally to difficult questions. The media has a job to do and that's cover your team, win or lose!"
Most often, the week before the ACC Tournament can be the SID's most stressful week of the entire year. The regular season ends the weekend prior, leaving only two to three days to prepare the materials needed for the tournament. There are press kits to put together, media days at the universities to conduct, and "everyone is trying to out do each other with nuggets of information," says Kirschner.
The most significant difference for the Sports Information Directors during the tournament in comparison to their regular season duties is dealing with the different array of media present at the ACC Tournament. The Sports Information Directors are comfortable communicating with the local media that they have established working relationships with throughout the year. However, with the inclusion of nine total teams from different geographical locations and the reputation that the ACC Tournament has earned over the years, the additional national and regional media can create a critical challenge for the SID's. "The sheer magnitude of the media is tremendous. There are so many, and they all want different things. You need to figure out who needs what and when and figure out how to deliver it to them, " expresses Kirschner.
Over the past few decades, the operation of the ACC Tournament has undergone many changes. "I believe it was prior to 1975, that only one team from each conference made it to the NCAA Tournament and it was the conference champion. This created so much pressure to win the tournament," explains Kirschner. "You could be 30 and 0 in regular season, ranked number one, come to this tournament and lose by one point and you weren't going to the NCAA Tournament. Changing this system was a major turning point for the tournament."
"Over the past 12 years that I have spent with the ACC, the biggest change has been the format itself. I'm not sure there is a perfect match for nine teams when you are trying to host a tournament in three to four days. I do believe that the number one team coming into the tournament deserves reward for their play during the regular season and the one and nine format here at the ACC Tournament is a fair way to do that."
The greatest reward for everyone involved, including the Sports Information Directors, is winning the ACC Tournament. Steve Kirschner's most memorable moment at the ACC Tournament, was UNC's 1998 win over their arch-rival, Duke. "They were number one, we were top five and it was Bill Guthridge's first year as head coach. It was a tightly contested game and Duke tested our ability. It was great to see Coach Guthridge win the ACC Championship during his first year as head coach."
The ACC is known as "a tradition of excellence" and Kirschner agrees. "This is a great tournament. There is great tradition and the people running it have been doing it for a long time. I don't have a single complaint about how this tournament is run, except that North Carolina could win it every year!"
