The athletic communications staff at Washington and Lee is happy to assist you with the coverage of the University's athletic teams and student-athletes. Below is some helpful information and links to guide you through the process. If you have any questions or would like to speak with a member of the athletic communications staff, please call (540) 458-8676.

ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS
 

Sydney Anderson | Director of Athletic Communications

Will Wallace | Associate Director of Athletic Communications

INTERVIEW POLICY

The Department of Athletic Communications coordinates all interviews between departmental staff or student-athletes and legitimate representatives of press or media outlets, including radio, television, the internet and other publications. All requests for interviews received by Department personnel should be referred to the Athletic Communications staff. The granting of an interview that may address any controversial issue or matter under investigation is subject to prior approval of Washington and Lee administration.

All coaches and student-athletes are encouraged to participate in interview sessions in order to generate positive publicity and present the best possible image of the University, including one of good sportsmanship. While every effort will be made to accommodate all needs, coach and student-athlete availability is determined on an event-by-event basis in accordance to their athletic and academic schedules. These individuals also reserve the right to deny an interview request.

To better provide complete service and help fully understand your interview needs, please fill out the Media Interview Request Form.

Please follow the below guidelines:

• Interviews with coaches and student-athletes will be scheduled with the Department of Athletic Communications at Washington & Lee in order to coordinate a mutually agreed upon time.
• Student-athletes should not be directly contacted for interviews at their residences, on their cell phones, via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and all other social networking entities.
• 24 hour notice should be given to coordinate schedules for all mid-week interviews.
• The Director of Athletic Communications requests advance notice of the subject or topic of your interview in order to allow the student-athlete to prepare for the interaction as they see fit.
• Post-Game interviews will be conducted following a mandatory 10 minute cool down period.

MID-WEEK INTERVIEWS:

Student-athletes and coaches are available to internal and external media throughout the week for interviews. Director of Athletic Communications, Sydney Anderson (sanderson@wlu.edu), will coordinate interview requests with a minimum of 24 hours notice and advance notice of the topic of your interview for all student-based, internal and external media members. A member of the Athletic Communications Staff will be present during the interview at the request of the coach or student-athlete. 

POST-GAME INTERVIEW POLICY:

Post-game interviews are coordinated following the event and can be conducted on the fields/court or outside the locker rooms following a mandatory ten minute cool down period. Washington and Lee has a closed locker room policy and interviews are not to be conducted in the locker room areas. For post-game access, simply locate a member of the athletic communications staff with your interview requests. We will assist in ushering those players from the locker room for your convenience and remain present during the interview.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

Head coaches, along with the Athletic Communications staff, may wish to provide their student-athletes with specific guidelines for speaking to media representatives. While different guidelines may be appropriate for different sports, all coaches should include instructions on responding to both typical and high stress situations, which may occur during or after a game.

Athletics Communications personnel will not provide members of the media with home or cell numbers of student-athletes and coaches without expressed permission. If a telephone interview is requested, the Director of Athletics for Communications will ask that the selected student-athlete/coach to return the phone call at a designated time. It is strongly suggested that any phone call placed by a student-athlete or coach to be dialed beginning with *67, to prevent the inadvertent distribution of their phone number.

Coaches and student-athletes are expected to return phone calls in a timely manner when requested to do so by the Athletics Communications staff.

STUDENT-ATHLETE INTERVIEWS

CREDENTIALS AND GAME DAY MEDIA POLICIES

ADMISSION:

PHOTO POLICY:

Washington and Lee does require that you obtain a sideline pass in order to shoot any athletic event held at the University. Please contact the athletic communications office at least 24 hours in advance to reserve a sideline pass.  ONLY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS shooting for Washington and Lee, the visiting school or approved media outlets will be issued a sideline pass and the University reserves the right to revoke photography privileges based upon sideline conduct during the game.

TELEVISION/RADIO POLICY:

If you wish to provide television or radio coverage of an athletic event at Washington and Lee, please contact the athletic communications staff at least 24 hours prior to the event.  Phone lines and internet connections are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at most of our athletic facilities.

BRANDING ASSETS

LOGO:
W&L Trident Logo - Right Click to download (Adobe Illustrator format / png format)
 

Updated August 2023