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For years, I’ve heard the old adage that to be truly great at sports, having a high level of self confidence was key. After today’s Media Day at the College Football Playoff National Championship, I believe the same thing to be true about being a successful sports journalist. With an event of this importance, the …

By Zach Wagner | @zachwagner22  Sports Capital Journalism Program PHOENIX — When Derrick Henry’s Alabama teammates attempt to describe what makes him so special, their responses often mention that his actions speak louder than his words. The confidence displayed during Henry’s Heisman Trophy season comes from the strong inner belief he has in himself and …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Sports Capital Journalism Program PHOENIX – Clemson safety T.J. Green hated everything Alabama as a kid. The team, the colors, the houndstooth hats. Didn’t like the Crimson Tide one bit. Green grew up in Sylacauga, Alabama, a pro-Crimson Tide town despite being located a nearly equal distance between Tuscaloosa and Auburn, …

By Sports Capital Journalism Program Staff SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Sports Capital Journalism Program is covering the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive year, as graduate assistants Frank Gogola and Zach Wagner report on the National Championship between Clemson and Alabama. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has the only sports journalism program to receive credentials …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Sports Capital Journalism Program SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Former Florida State linebacker Derrick Brooks remembered being called into head coach Bobby Bowden’s office during his freshman season. He dreaded it because he knew players were only called into the coach’s office when something bad happened. Brooks had just earned his first …

By Zach Wagner | @zachwagner22 Sports Capital Journalism Program SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said that the schedule at the end of the next two seasons will go on as planned as organizers analyze the decline in television ratings for the recent semifinal games played on New Year’s Eve. “I don’t …

DALLAS — Veteran journalist Ivan Maisel, whose work has appeared in The Dallas Morning News, Newsday, Sports Illustrated and on ESPN.com, is the winner of the FWAA’s prestigious Bert McGrane Award. He will be honored next Monday at the FWAA’s Annual Awards Breakfast in Scottsdale, Arizona. Celebrating  its 75th Anniversary — founded in 1941 — …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Sports Capital Journalism Program Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson said after the Orange Bowl that he expected to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship despite a left knee injury. During a conference call four days later, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney sounded just as optimistic about his standout defensive …

Entering the College Football Playoff Semifinal as a student media member covering a national event, I didn’t know what to expect. While I have always been treated well as a member of student media, the ‘student’ title has often meant I didn’t get quite all the bells and whistles that professional media members are accustomed …

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic was still several hours away when colleague Jessica Wimsatt and I headed from the press box at the top of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to the artificial surface for a pre-game video analysis. When we were finished, we returned to the elevator to make the discovery that here was …