Sept. 1, 2010
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Oakland University welcomed its 2010-11 student-athletes back to campus on Wednesday with orientation, as well as a media training session with one of the industry's top consultants, Don Yaeger. A former Sports Illustrated writer, Yaeger now runs 180 Communications in Tallahassee, Fla. and is used for training with several major Division I universities, along with the National Football League.
"It's great to work with Oakland's athletes - especially coming off of a couple of weeks where we've done the same work for Notre Dame, Arkansas and other universities," said Yaeger. "To have an athletic department that cares about the image these athletes portray is a great resource. Oakland's athletes took to this presentation about the importance of their personal brands as well as any group of athletes I've ever worked with."
As a four-time New York Times bestselling author and long-time associate editor of Sports Illustrated, Yaeger has developed a reputation as one of America's most provocative journalists. The variety of topics he has covered is so vast that every major talk show - from Oprah to Nightline, from CNN to Good Morning America - has invited him to be a guest. Using the lessons learned over his extensive career as both a journalist and an entrepreneur, Don has also become an award-winning keynote speaker, working with audiences as diverse as Fortune 500 companies and cancer survivor groups, where he shares his personal story. Additionally, he has been engaged as a media coach to countless high-profile athletes, business leaders and elected officials.
"It was great to see Don interact with our student-athletes and watch the lessons he was teaching them," said Director of Athletics Tracy Huth. "He sent a powerful message and I believe our student-athletes received that message and will learn from this presentation. Oakland Athletics took another step further in fulfilling its mission of supporting excellence in our student-athletes academically, athletically and socially. I want to thank Don and his group from 180 Communications for coming to campus and working with us."
-30-
