General Reporting and Blogging Policies
For those covering BYU men's volleyball please be aware of the policies detailed below. For any questions or clarifications, please contact the sports information director by email at mvolleyball_sid@byu.edu.
- Media members should not contact directly BYU student-athletes, coaches, support staff or other Athletic Department personnel for any reason. All interviews must be arranged through the Athletic Communications office prior to being conducted.
- With some exceptions, players and coaches will be available for brief interviews either before or following practice sessions. Some players may not be available at every practice depending on circumstances such as classes, exams, other obligations or scheduling considerations.
- Regarding player injuries, Coach Olmstead or the Athletic Communications office will provide official information. In situations where additional information is needed, team athletic trainer Blain Empey will be made available when possible to answer additional follow-up questions. Do not ask players for injury news.
- Only comments provided through a standard, mutually recognized interview can be used as content in blogs and stories.
- We support and maintain the philosophy that blog reports should be no different than other information that would be broadcast or published by your organization under the scrutiny of standard professional editorial guidelines and principles. We request your cooperation in helping us maintain a professional environment in this effort.
Game-day Policies
- The NCAA mandated 10-minute cooling off period will be enforced.
- Coach Shawn Olmstead will address the media on the court following the student-athletes.
- All requests for interviews must be coordinated through the BYU Athletic Communications office.
- The BYU locker room is closed to the media.
Credentials
- All working media personnel who plan on covering a men's volleyball home event must have a media credential. Request media credentials prior to the first match by contacting the SID. Each media representative will be assigned a specific seat on press row.
- No parking passes are needed for men's volleyball matches.
Radio Broadcasts
Radio lines (ISDN or analog) are available for use by visiting radio entities. The radio station must make these requests in advance by contacting the SID.
Blogs/Instantaneous Reports
- Credentialed media outlets are permitted to post a blog entry or use other forms of instantaneous reporting (i.e., twitter and social media, etc.) a maximum of five (5) times per set and once (1) during breaks between sets.
- Credentialed media may not participate in two-way dialog or real-time chats, including in-game Q&A.
- Play-by-play reports are not permitted.
- Media may blog or file a report (i.e., twitter, social media, etc.) only for the organization for which they are officially credentialed.
- Additional credentials will not be issued to credentialed media outlets to accommodate blogging.
Blogging and Instantaneous Content Guidelines
- In general, scoring updates, periodic analysis and time remaining is permissible content.
- Play-by-play descriptions and detailed statistical analysis of the match is not permitted.
- Any private conversations or interactions between individuals, including coaches, players, administrators, staff, members of the media, etc. are not appropriate content for blogging or for any other reporting.
- BYU Athletic Communications personnel will be the final authority to determine if a news entity/network is following these policies.
Media Services
- Match results and stats files will be emailed at the conclusion of the match. These requests must be made in advance with the men's volleyball communications director.
- Statistics will be distributed during timeouts to all media.
- Complete final stats packets will be provided approximately 15 minutes after the match.
Photo/Video
- Photographers and videographers are permitted to sit in front of the east press row during matches. They may stand or sit on the north and south corners of the court beside Courtside Cougars, or anywhere in the stands. Please do not stand in front of paying spectators. You will be asked to move.
- Tripods are never allowed at BYU volleyball matches.
Obtaining Information
The latest news, statistics and information regarding BYU men's volleyball is available 24 hours a day on BYU’s official athletics website www.byucougars.com.
Media members may contact the men's volleyball SID to receive news releases and match notes via email.
All media access and credentials are provided at the sole discretion of BYU and the Athletic Communications department. Credentials and access can be revoked at any time for any reason. This policy may change or be revised at any time.