FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Four-day program for current & former players includes “final exam” covering Toledo Mud Hens baseball game

Twenty three current and former NFL players — including 12-year NFL veteran CHARLIE BATCH, 2012 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee TROY BROWN, and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner ERIC CROUCH — will take part in the first-ever NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp from May 13-16 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. With the new longer offseason, the boot camp is one of a record 10 training programs for post-NFL careers that NFL Player Engagement offers to current and former players.

The four-day program will focus on improving each player’s writing skills for newspapers, radio, and the expanding digital media industry. A field exercise at a Toledo Mud Hens home game will include a mock press conference as part of the player’s game coverage.  Players will write and record their own radio commentary as part of one of the other planned exercises. 

Faculty for the boot camp will include ED BOUCHETTE (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), PETER KING (Sports Illustrated, NBC), and BARRY WILNER (Associated Press) as well as former NFL players-turned-journalists SOLOMON WILCOTS (CBS, NFL Network), MATT BOWEN (Chicago Tribune), MATT CHATHAM (Boston Herald), and BUCKY BROOKS (NFL.com and NFL Network). 

The boot camp is hosted by the BGSU School of Media and Communications and the Sport Management program and was developed with NFL Player Engagement, under the auspices of the Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project.

“BGSU is both honored and thrilled to welcome the inaugural NFL Sports Journalism & Communication Boot Camp to our campus. We have both highly skilled professors and alumni teaching interactive sessions and providing excellent instruction in the fast-changing sports media industry,” said DR. TERRY RENTNER, professor and director, BGSU School of Media and Communications. 

Player enrollment criteria include previous participation in NFL Player Engagement programs, prior media experience, essays, and NFL playing experience.

Following are the NFL players participating in the NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp:

Player / Current/Former team(s)

Brendon Ayanbadejo / Free agent

Charlie Batch / Free agent

Ralph Brown / Former (NYG, MIN, CLV, ARZ)

Troy Brown / Former (NE)

LaMar Campbell / Former (DET)

Bryon Chamberlain / Former (DEN, MIN, WAS)

Eric Crouch / Former (STL)

Derrick Dockery / Free Agent

Leger Douzable / Free Agent

Jamie Duncan / Former (TB, STL, ATL)

Andre Fluellen / DET

Jay Foreman / Former (BUF, HOU, NYG, SF)

Nick Ferguson / Former (NYJ, DEN, HOU)

Kendall Gammon / Former (PIT, NO, KC)

Ken Hamlin / Former (SEA, DAL, BAL, IND)

Erin Henderson / MIN

Tyoka Jackson / Former (MIA, TB, STL, DET)

Austen Lane / JAX

Ovie Mughelli / Former (BAL, ATL)

Brady Poppinga / Free Agent

Denard Walker / Former (TEN, DEN, MIN, OAK)

Ellis Wyms / Former (TB, SEA, MIN)

Michael Young / Former (ARZ)

For further information, please visit https://www.nflplayerengagement.com/.