Twenty-four current and former NFL players will take part in the first NFL Sports Journalism
& Communications Boot Camp from May 13-16 at Bowling Green State University.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.Several of the
outside faculty from the NFL’s popular Broadcast Boot Camp will also be involved as well as former NFL
players-turned-journalists 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."We are excited to work with Bowling Green State University as we continue to take
advantage of the expanded offseason to provide current and former players opportunities to explore a wide
variety of disciplines and get hands-on experience," said Troy Vincent, senior vice president of NFL
Player Engagement.Player enrollment criteria include previous participation in NFL Player Engagement
programs, prior media experience, essays, and NFL playing experience.For further information, visit
https://www.nflplayerengagement.com/.
