Media R relations for baseball, soccer, women¹s basketball, and volleyball teams. A native of Ohio, Jameson launched his sports career as media relations assistant at Rice, where he was responsible for baseball and volleyball teams. He also served as Chuck Pool graduate assistant at Indiana State, where he garnered national publicity for ISU’s nationally Assistant Athletics Director ranked track and field teams. A 1989 graduate from Indiana with a B.A. degree in telecommunications, Jameson Sports Information aided IU’s media relations department in its publicity efforts for the Hoosiers’ nationally ranked men’s basketball, football, and men’s soccer teams. At Rice University, he is in his first year as resident associate for Hanszen College. A veteran of nearly 20 years on the Houston sports scene, Chuck Pool is in his third year at the head of the Owls’ publicity efforts. He assumed his duties on August 23, 2006. Pool is the third SID in the school’s history, following Bill Whitmore and Bill Cousins and Ron Mears oversees all Owls athletic communications and publicity efforts while serving as the primary contact for football. Assistant Sports Information Director Pool, 50, joined the Owls after spending the previous four years running his own public relations company, Laysan Communications, which specialized in sports-related public and media relations. His primary clients included the Rotary Lombardi Award, which honors the top lineman in college football, and the Roger Clemens Award, which is presented to the top pitcher in college baseball. Laysan also provided media services to the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and USA Football. Ron Mears is in his first year as a member of the Rice University sports information He first came to Houston in the fall of 1985 when he joined the Houston Astros as the office. Among his responsibilities are publicizing the men’s basketball and golf programs. assistant director of public relations. He remained with the Astros through the spring of 1992 Mears brings a wealth of media relations experience to Rice including the previous when he was selected to create the media relations department of the expansion Florida three-plus years as director of athletic media relations at Texas State University. During his Marlins. He returned to the Astros in 1998 before entering private business in 1999. final football season, Mears coordinated publicity for both a Walter Camp First-Team All- Pool is a 1980 graduate of the University of Nebraska where he played freshman foot- America selection as well as the university’s first National Football Foundation Draddy Award ball (1977). He joined the Huskers’ sports information staff after graduation and was part of Finalist. the publicity efforts that garnered a Heisman Trophy, three Outland and two Rotary Lomardi In 2005, he led the publicity efforts for Texas State’s Southland Conference football Award winners and 10 consensus All-America selections in football. He also headed up championship team as the team advanced to the NCAA I-AA national semifinals. publicity efforts for the Huskers’ gymnastics and swimming programs and served as media Prior to joining the Texas State staff, Mears was the primary contact for men’s basket- coordinator for three NCAA men’s gymnastics and one NCAA women’s swimming and diving ball at the University of Memphis. He also served as the director of sports information for 10 championship. In 1984, he was selected to join the media staff for the Olympic Games in Los years at Nicholls State. Angeles. While at Memphis, Mears was the publicist for the 2002 National Invitation Tournament Pool and his wife Laura reside in Pearland. They have four children, Kevin (19, a Rice champions. In addition to working with the U of M’s basketball program, he also assisted with freshman at Hanszen College on the football team), Cameron (16), Kelli (14) and Courtney media relations for the Tiger football program as well as other assigned responsibilities. (11). During his tenure, the Memphis basketball media guide was annually ranked among the top 15 in Division I basketball according to publication contests conducted by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The publication grew from 182 pages prior to Mears’ arrival to 242 pages his final year. Jay Jameson A 1986 graduate of Oklahoma State University, Mears was named Nicholls State’s SID in 1988 and received additional responsibilities as the Assistant Director of University Assistant Sports Information Director Relations in 1991. While at Nicholls State, Mears was involved with the Louisiana Sports Writers Associa- tion, coordinating the LSWA’s basketball player of the week program for five years as well as various LSWA all-Louisiana teams. He served a two-year term as the LSWA’s treasurer. He has served on the media relations staff of NCAA basketball regionals each of the past three years, working both the NCAA Houston Regional and the NCAA Final Four in 2008. Now in his sixth year with the Rice athletic department, Jay Jameson returns to the Mears is married to the former Ann Treviño, a Rice graduate from Sid Richardson sports information staff after spending 2008, as the director of operations for Rice’s men’s College. The couple have a son, Cooper McCrae, born in July. basketball team. With over 20 years of NCAA Division-I experience, Jameson had previously served as the primary media relations contact for the Owls’ men’s basketball team. Currently, he serves as the primary contact for volleyball, women’s basketball and track and field. Jameson previously worked for four years as assistant media relations director at Indiana University, where he served as the department¹s publications coordinator. Several of his publications have earned regional and national CoSIDA accolades. He has twice received “Best in the Nation” honors along with recognition for “Third-Best in the Nation” for the commemorative 100-year anniversary basketball program that he designed for Indiana University. Jameson’s skills are not limited to graphic design. He handled media relations duties for Indiana’s 1999 NCAA men¹s soccer championship team as well served as media coordi- nator for the 1999 NCAA Cross Country Championship, hosted by Indiana. Shaina Rasmussen Sam Shainsky Prior to working at Indiana, he was an assistant media relations director at the Student SID Student SID University of Evansville. While working for the Aces, he was in charge of publicity and media 2009 RICE OWLS BASEBALL 91 R Media Covering the Rice Owls The 2009 edition of the Rice Giving advance notice to the ath- Owls Baseball media guide was letic news bureau of attending at produced to assist in coverage for a practice session is helpful and the team. Additional information, appreciated. including weekly news releases, photographs and video clips, is Rice On the Internet available on request. Information on Rice baseball and all 16 intercollegiate Owl sports During the Week can be obtained through the Inter- Rice Athletic News Bureau net. To view updated Rice rosters, The Rice sports information office schedules/results, fast facts, biog- is located in room 1204 of Tudor raphies, pictures and much more, Fieldhouse (next to the elevator). type in the following URL address: The mailing address is PO Box http://www.RiceOwls.com 1892, MS 548, Houston, TX 77251- 1892. The telephone number is 713- The Reckling Park Press Box 348-4034. The press box at Reckling Park has a limited number of seats for work- Interviews With Wayne Graham ing media. Admission is by creden- Rice head coach Wayne Graham is tial only. very accessible to the media and will answer telephone calls at the Credentials earliest opportunity. The best time All requests for working credentials to reach coach Graham is 9:30- at Reckling Park should be made 11:30 am, weekdays. Please call his to John Sullivan a few days in ad- office directly at (713) 348-8864 for vance of the game to be covered, interview appointments. preferably in writing (e-mail or fac- simile, or U.S. mail). All requests Player Interviews should come from sports editors All interviews must be arranged at or directors and will be carefully least one day in advance through screened to ensure good working the athletic news bureau. Players’ conditions. Spouses, dates, mi- home/cell phone numbers will not nors and non-workers will not be be released. No interviews will permitted in the press areas. No be allowed before a game. The credentials will be mailed. Photo media will not be allowed in the credentials will be granted on the Rice locker room, weight room or same priority schedule as general training room areas. media credentials. Postgame Interviews Parking The Rice athletic news bureau will Due to recent campus construc- assist those writers and broad- tion, there is no designated media casters wishing to interview Owls parking at Reckling Park. All park- players and coaches following the ing for Rice home games is in the game. Following a short cooling- main Rice Stadium parking lots. off period, requested Rice players Please see the map on page 94. and coaches will be available in the Owls’ dugout area. Rice play- Tickets ers and coaches are not available Call the Rice athletic ticket office for interviews between games of at 713-348-4068 to order game tick- doubleheaders. ets. Most major credit cards are accepted for advance orders. Attending Practice The media is welcome at Rice The 2009 Media Guide The 2009 Rice baseball media guide is published by the Rice University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Chris Del practice sessions. All Rice head Conte, director. The guide was written and edited by the Athletic News Bureau: Chuck Pool (director), John Sullivan (base- coaches have the option to close ball SID), Jay Jameson and Ron Mears.