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Professor Spotlight: Dr. Josh Dickhaus Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication

f you’ve walked into the Caterpillar Global Communications Center during your time at Bradley, odds are you’ve probably seen him. The professor with his hair spiked up in the front wearing a plaid shirt, khaki shorts and flip flops any day the thermometer reads more than 20 degrees.

Josh Dickhaus, or “Doc D”, has been a staple of Bradley’s communication department and the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication since 2011, teaching various courses in sports communication and communication theory. Dickhaus came to Bradley University in December 2010 after earning a BA and master’s at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, as well as a Doctorate in Mass Communication from the University of Alabama.

Although he’s only been a professor at Bradley for six years, he’s been teaching in a college classroom since his graduate assistantship at age 22.

“My plan was to go into the [mass communication] industry, but I got to college, and you start interacting with your professors, and I thought I really liked that life, I thought it would be really nice to be a college professor,” Dickhaus said. “I really enjoy this.”

“As I got to my senior year I started filling out job applications, and some small offers started rolling in,” Dickhaus said. “I wanted to go to graduate school at Miami because I could teach my own classes, to see if I really enjoy teaching or not. It never hurts to have more education because in this business sometimes you’re the hot commodity, but then you start getting older and you become expendable.”

Dickhaus said he first heard of a job opening in the sports communication program at Bradley before he finished his doctorate, but he was stunned to find the position still needed to be filled after he received his Ph.D.

“I had honestly never heard of Bradley before,” Dickhaus said. “A friend of mine in my master’s program at Miami had called me and told me that Bradley had a sports communication program. Bradley was hiring as I was entering my second year of my Ph.D program, so I couldn’t even apply yet. I still had another year to go. When August of 2010 hit and I had passed my comprehensive exams, I was working on my dissertation and researching for a professor, and I got a phone call from my friend and she told me that the job at Bradley was still open, and I applied and things actually moved pretty quickly, and by December I had the job.”

During his time at Bradley, Dickhaus has helped shape the sports communication program and was part of the team of people, along with Paul Gullifor and Dean Jeffrey Huberman, who eventually had the school named after Charley Steiner in 2015.

“My first year in 2012 we actually held the sports summit here, which is a conference,” Dickhaus said. “That was the first time I met Charley.”

“I flew out with Dr. Gullifor and Dean Huberman to LA for an announcement of the Steiner School of sports communication. When I was there, Charley actually asked me if I was graduating that year, and I said, ‘No I’m not graduating. Do I look that young to you?’”

Since then, Steiner has started a sports symposium meant to be held every November, during which he brings various sports media professionals to campus to speak to the students and hosts panels, often occupied by Dickhaus himself.

“I think the brightest thing that was said at the symposium last year was, ‘If you’re really a big fan of a sport you might not want to work in it because then you’re not a fan anymore, it’s a job,’” Dickhaus said. “The symposium has been very valuable to the program and our students and I think it will just continue to grow.”

Outside of teaching, Dickhaus continues to work with colleagues from universities around the country to study and research hot topics in sports and their impact on media and society. Topics he’s researched include LeBron James’ image restoration after “the decision,” athlete endorsements, the relationship between race and sport and the Ray Rice case.

One of Dickhaus’ favorite parts about teaching has not only been the positive impact he’s been able to make on students, but also the positive feedback he’s received in return.

“You’re not going to reach every student, but reaching some is always rewarding and you can usually tell when you’ve reached them and when they’re getting it,” Dickhaus said. “The best thing is when I’ve had former students reach out to me and say, ‘You weren’t easy, but you were good at what you do,’ and that has always meant a lot to me.”

In terms of advice, Dickhaus said perseverance and patience will be key when entering a very competitive industry such as sports communication.

“You have to know what you want and be willing to work hard for it, and you’ve gotta be tough. It’s a very cutthroat industry,” Dickhaus said. “Sports is ever-expanding. I don’t see in any way in the short term that sports are going to diminish in size, I only see them getting bigger, so there should be opportunities for people that are willing to work hard.”

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