Present versus preferred public relations practices of athletic departments in Canadian universities.

Public relations (PR) practices in athletic departments (AD's) of C.I.A.U. - member institutions were surveyed with a mailed questionnaire. The instrument which included fifty-seven items of a two-part nature, measured eight "present" and "preferred" public relations characteristics. A 74.5% (N = R35) response rate was achieved over a six-week period. Analysis of results indicated that: (1) Present concepts of the purposes of PR programs in AD's are much less clear than they could be; (2) While most AD's maintain an identifiable unit responsible for PR, the majority of personnel practising these roles are not qualified by experience and/or training in this area; (3) Even though relationships and internal communications within AD's, regarding PR issues, seem fairly adequate, additional means of providing internal feedback on PR activities are needed; (4) Even though local media have been well identified and are contacted regularly, the present flow of external communications appears to be one-way. i.e. from the AD's to the press, and more exphasis on information needs and requests originating from the media is required; (5) Provisions for performance evaluation and long-range planning of the PR programs appear very poor; (6) AD's in the Ontario and Great Plains athletic conferences generally offer far greater provisions for a sound PR program.