Spotlight

Fielding odd queries and pleas for big-game passes

The telephone rings on the second floor of the Marie Hartwig Building, and a friendly voice answers, "Athletic Media Relations."

(Photo by Marcia Ledford, U-M Photo Services)

After that call, the phone rings again. And it rings. And rings. And rings.

For the past 14 years, Tara Preston has answered many of those calls as the office manager for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics unit responsible for media and public relations for the University's 25 varsity athletic teams.

Many of the questions are easy to answer: What time is kickoff for the football game? What channel is it on? Can I get married on the sidelines in Michigan Stadium? Can I put a message on the scoreboard?

Preston, who has been at the University for 19 years, is confident she can field most of those calls—except one that came several years ago.

"Somebody called and wanted to know if you filled [Michigan] Stadium with water, what would the volume be?" Preston recalls. "This person swore up and down that it was documented somewhere."

Preston put the caller on hold and consulted Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Bruce Madej. He quipped: "Tell him you can't figure it out because the water would run out the exits."

Preston's days are filled with more than phone calls. She is responsible for fielding media credential requests for football and men's basketball. The Wolverines' recent bye week was a welcome reprieve for Preston, who has received more than 900 credential requests for this weekend's showdown with Ohio State.

"My first credential request came in June," says Preston, adding that this year's game could surpass the 1997 contest when the office issued a record 1,057 media credentials for the traditional season-ending game. "We are still getting a lot of requests, but I have an inch-thick stack of requests that we have had to say no to."

Preston also answers or re-directs e-mails sent to the mgoblue.com Web site. The phone calls, e-mails and national attention devoted to this year's game no doubt will increase this week with the Big Ten championship on the line.

"It is going to be crazy," she says. "It doesn't matter what is happening with both teams at the time; the fact that Ohio State and Michigan are playing is all that matters."

After this weekend's game Preston will have more time to spend with her husband, TJ—a boiler repairman at U-M's Central Power Plant—and 7-year-old daughter, Ashley. They devoted most of the summer to their favorite activity—camping.

On football Saturdays, Preston can be found in a nondescript brick building just outside Gate 9 at Michigan Stadium. From her post, she distributes the game's media credentials before heading to the press box to watch the game.

"I have always enjoyed athletics," says Preston, a prep volleyball and softball player. "Coming here was a dream come true for me."

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