I have been watching football since the moment I was born… at least it feels like that. I can confidently say that I have been a die-hard Oregon Duck fan since I was born. Both of my parents attended the University of Oregon where they met, and fell in love with each other, but also with Duck football. My dad has been a season ticket holder since he graduated in 1995, naturally making me a season ticket holder since I was born in 2002.
As I got older, I slowly but surely became a bigger fan than my dad was. Every morning, I would sit at my front door waiting for the newspaper to come so I could read the “sports” section of the paper and see what analysts had to say about the Ducks. Before each season, I would print out the team rosters and memorize the players’ names and their numbers. We’d be at a game, and the people around me would always ask me, the eight-year-old, who just made the play, or what the call on the field was. My Sundays soon became strictly dedicated to the NFL Redzone channel. And football subconsciously became my obsession. It felt like my brain was built to understand the game.
Now, I’m a junior at the University of Oregon, and being in the student section of Autzen Stadium is something I always dreamed of. And I knew it would come true. Football has remained one of my biggest passions in life, but I’ve also spread my wings. I’ve always been organized and like to stick to a plan. One of my talents is bringing people together through making plans, and I am constantly the go-to girl for helping plans come to life. With this side talent of mine, I figured I could take it a step further.
I began working events during the summer on the Nike WHQ, which helped me learn the ins and outs of the executions of events. Through multiple months of catering, delivering and presentation, I was ready to become the actual planner. I got involved in my sorority and became the Director of Social Events. This was such a fun job, and it made me realize I could be an event planner in the future.
So, in this blog, I aim to bring two of my passions together – football and events. But more specifically, I want to analyze and acknowledge this relationship through a public relations lens. Easily, every college football game is an event. But what goes into it from a public relations standpoint? I hope to educate myself and my readers on communication insights and strategies in the NCAAF. It will be crucial to learn the event management and planning essentials that are required to execute such large-scale events. It will be important to acknowledge reputation management and how the NCAAF manages the league. Lastly, in this blog, I hope to touch on the trends and innovations in college football PR.
From this blog, you can expect to read about the role of PR in promoting college football sporting events. The media relations, social media, press conferences, campaigns, community engagement… the list can go on! I’m eager to educate myself on the backgrounds of this foundation, as well as my readers.
Addie Peterson 
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