State Tournament Media Credential Information

Please read this entire document before submitting your media credential application

2013 Boys Basketball Credential Application Form

2012-13 Media Regulations

Photography Regulations

Boys Basketball Media Welcome Letter

Click here for OHSAA Boys Basketball page

2013 OHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament Media Information

The following information has been prepared to assist you with your coverage of the upcoming OHSAA boys basketball state tournaments. Please contact Tim Stried (tstried@ohsaa.org or 614-267-2502, ext. 124) at the OHSAA office should you have additional questions. Previews and additional information will be posted on the OHSAA web site the week of each state tournament.

DATES: Thursday, March 21, through Saturday, March 23

YOUR HOSTS: OHSAA Assistant Commissioner Jerry Snodgrass is the OHSAA’s administrator for basketball. Tim Stried, the OHSAA’s director of information services, will be available to assist the media with credentials, seating assignments, interview requests, media notes, statistics, photographer placement, etc. Associate Commissioner Bob Goldring coordinates the postgame press conferences.

LOCATION: Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University (555 Borror Drive, Columbus).

DIRECTIONS: Value City Arena is located at the corner of Lane Avenue and Olentangy River Road. There are two primary routes to get to the area: 1.) Take State Route 315 to the Lane Avenue exit and head east toward campus. At the first intersection, turn left (north) onto Fred Taylor Drive and you will see the arena on the right. 2.) Take State Route 315 to the Ackerman Road exit and head east toward campus. At the first main intersection, turn right (south) onto Fred Taylor Drive and you will see the arena on the left.

DIVISIONAL ROTATION AND SCHEDULE: The divisional rotation for the state tournaments in 2012 is III, II, IV and I. The Division III and II semifinals will be played Thursday. The Division IV and I semifinals will be played Friday. All 12 games of the boys state tournament are single-session contests. Note that the boys championship games on Saturday, March 23, have slightly altered start times again this year (10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.).

CREDENTIALS: Fax (or scan and email) the official credential application form to Tim Stried at the OHSAA office (fax 614-267-1677). The deadline to submit requests is noon on Tuesday, March 19, but media are asked to submit their applications as soon as possible.

CREDENTIAL CONFIRMATION: The OHSAA will send a confirmation email to media applicants and also post a list on OHSAA.org of those media members who have been approved for credentials. Denied requests will be notified via email.

COACHES AND MEDIA TELECONFERENCE: Once again, the OHSAA will conduct a media teleconference featuring the head coaches of the state tournament qualifiers on the Monday preceding the basketball state tournaments. The boys basketball teleconference will be held Monday, March 18. Contact Tim Stried at tstried@ohsaa.org for the schedule and call-in details.

PARKING: Some media members will be mailed a parking pass, while other media will be instructed where to pick up a parking pass prior to arriving at the Schottenstein Center. Parking details will be included in the confirmation email. Not every media member can be accommodated with a parking pass. For those media who do not receive a parking pass, parking is free at the lots around the facility near Ohio State’s baseball stadium and track stadium. A shuttle service is provided from the Buckeye Parking Lots at the north end of Fred Taylor Drive to bring those who park in those lots to the arena.

CREDENTIAL PICKUP/MEDIA ENTRANCE: Approved media shall pick up credentials at the media entrance to the arena, which is located in the Fred Taylor Room in the Northeast Rotunda (which faces Olentangy River Road and the Fawcett Center). Media shall show company identification in the Fred Taylor Room. Those who do not provide company I.D. may be denied entrance. Those outlets that do not issue employee I.D. cards must contact Tim Stried at the OHSAA in advance and identify the person who will be assigned to cover the tournament for their outlet. Upon entry, that person will then be required to show some form of photo I.D. before a credential is issued.

PRESS ROW: A separate seating chart will be created for each session. As media arrive at press row, please see an OHSAA representative for your specific seat assignment. Media who have not been approved to cover the following game must move their belongings to the media work room immediately after the game.

MEDIA WORKSPACE: Reporters covering the entire tournament (or the last game of the day) may continue working at their seats along press row. The arena’s media work room, which is located off the main hallway behind press row, is available for those media covering only specific games or divisions. Photographers also may work in the media work room. Wireless internet is available in the arena. Media shall request a password and username when credentials are picked up in the Fred Taylor Room.

TELEPHONE LINES: The OHSAA will provide a courtesy line for media use in the media work room. Calls are to be collect, with a credit card or with a toll-free number. Broadcast media outlets that need a phone line should mark the credential application form appropriately and must also fax a request to the attention of Steve Aldous in OSU’s Telecommunications and Networking Department within the Office of Information Technology. The fax number is 614-688-3425. You can also speak to an account manager at 614-292-6080. Your fee will include installation and lease of the line for the weekend. If you order a line, you must bring your own telephone and/or telephone cord. Neither will be provided. A technician will be on hand during the tournament to resolve any problems.

PREGAME TIMING INFORMATION: A separate timing information document will be provided to broadcast media so they are aware of the timing of such items as the National Anthem, pregame introductions and the exact tip time. The games will tip off as close to the announced start time as possible (three minutes past the announced time during the championship games). The National Anthem will be played before every session.

INTERVIEWS: No media members, including photographers, are permitted in locker rooms at any time. A post-game news conference will take place in the Media Interview Room, located in the back hallway behind the locker rooms after a brief cooling off period. The head coach and key players will attend. An OHSAA media escort will coordinate media members obtaining “quick sound bites” from one team if they are waiting near the interview room for the other team to finish its news conference. However, all radio and television post-game interviews will take place after the news conference. Once the first team finishes its news conference, all one-on-one interviews must stop immediately, and the second team is required to enter the news conference. For the championship games, interviews for “quick sound bites” are permitted on the floor immediately following the conclusion of BOTH awards ceremony. News conferences will also take place in the Media Interview Room. Additional one-on-one interviews, besides the “quick sound bites,” will take place after the news conference.

POST-GAME PHOTOS: For the semifinals and finals, still photographers and TV cameras are permitted on the court briefly for “celebration” types of photos. Photographers must leave the immediate court area and stand in a designated area so that fans can view the awards ceremonies. At that point, only the OHSAA’s official photographer, a SportsTime Ohio camera and a Schottenstein Center camera are permitted on the court.

TELEVISION INTERVIEWS: Interviews with coaches and players are not permitted on the court after contests unless approved by Tim Stried or Bob Goldring from the OHSAA. TV reporters may enter the floor to do a “stand-ups” but, as previously mentioned, they must wait to conduct one-on-one interviews with any coaches or players. Keep in mind that for the semifinals, a media escort will assist you with quick interviews if one team is waiting for the other team to wrap up its press conference. Following the championship games, the escort will also help media conduct courtside interviews, but they must take place after BOTH awards ceremonies. No media members are permitted in the locker rooms.

TELEVISION NEWS: Credentials will be issued for a photographer and reporter from the station to use at limited locations. Lights on cameras are not permitted either when shooting a game or when shooting a reporter filing a story and using the basketball court for a background while a contest is in progress. Shots from spectator seating areas are not permitted without prior permission from the OHSAA.

RADIO NEWS: All-session credentials for radio reporters are not available. A telephone number will be available for radio stations to call into the Schottenstein Center for score updates. Please contact Tim Stried at the OHSAA if you are interested in this service. Single game credentials for radio reporters are available. Seats are limited and not all requests can be honored.

LIVE RADIO BROADCASTS: Live radio and audio internet streaming is permitted. OHSAA broadcast rights fees apply (see chart posted on the ‘News & Media’ page at OHSAA.org.). Telephone line charges are additional.

SECOND MULT BOX AVAILABLE: Two mult boxes will be provided for use by the media during the basketball state tournaments. One will be located in the postgame press conference room. The other will be located at midcourt behind the second row of the media seating. Media are welcome to obtain the audio from the house audio feed (which includes the postgame trophy presentations) and the postgame press conferences.

TAPE-DELAY TV TELECASTS: Tape-delayed TV telecasts are permitted for semifinal contests. SportsTime Ohio, the OHSAA’s official television partner, will televise the championship games.

HOSPITALITY: There is a Media Hospitality Room located off the main floor. Meals will be served as selected times during the tournaments. Media members are requested to remain inside the Media Hospitality Room with their food and beverages (teams will be entering/exiting the court in the hallway directly outside the Hospitality Room). Only water is permitted at courtside.

PHOTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE: Rather than sending a stringer, media outlets needing photographs from a state tournament are encouraged to contact the OHSAA’s official photographer, Impact Action Sports Photography. Their website is www.impactactionphotos.com (click on the media request form). The contacts are Joe Maiorana (photojoe2707@yahoo.com) and Ben Barnes (barnziben@gmail.com). Coaches, school staff, freelance photographers and parents of competitors are not permitted to receive media credentials. Media outlets found to be in violation are subject to reduced access at future OHSAA state tournaments.
 

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