Bradley’s department of communication hosted the fourth annual Charley Steiner Symposium Thursday, which featured five different panels concerning the sports industry. Bradley alum Charley Steiner started the symposium after the sports communication school was named after him four years ago.
There were four panels throughout the day including Collegiate Athletic Directors: What Keeps Me Awake at Night, Rules of Sport: Regulations and Ethics, Critical Issues in the Field of Sports Communication and The State of the Game. The symposium concluded in the evening with a Conversation with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Charley Steiner in Peplow Pavilion.
The symposium included some big name friends of Steiner. Panelists included sports talk personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame David Baker, former NFL referee Bill Carollo and well established beat sport reporters.
One of the biggest days of the year for sports communication majors, the event was well attended and well liked. Junior sports communication major Nathan Fischer said he took a lot from the symposium.
“It’s great to have industry professionals express their views and guide current students aspiring to be in their positions someday,” Fischer said.
Steiner fondly remembers his time at Bradley and said the school has come a long way. He knows he owes the school for a lot of his success and wants to return the favor.
“Bradley has given me so many special days. The two that stick out are receiving an honorary doctorate at graduation in 2010 and when the sport communication school was named after me,” Steiner said. “I want to pay it back to the school that has given me so much by providing this event.”
Steiner said he is proud of what the symposium has become, but thinks it can still improve.
“Each year, this event continues to grow and become closer to what I envisioned four years ago,” Steiner said. “I want this to continue to grow even more.”
Joshua Dickhaus, professor of communication and director of the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication, was responsible for organizing the event. He said the department continues to provide this opportunity to supplement students’ classroom learning.
“We are thrilled [about] how it is going this year,” Dickhaus said. “It is integral for our students that are here and perspective students in the audience. We think it keeps getting better each year.”
