Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Sports Writing

COMM 2507-01

Course: COMM 2507-01
Credits: 3
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: COMM
CRN: 11433

Course Description

This course is designed to help students develop their own unique writing style and to strengthen their analytical skills for writing across all areas of sports media including print, radio, television, or the Internet. Students will be expected to perform many of the duties of professional journalists to complete their assignments. (Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Required Texts

Writing & Reporting for Sports Media
by Hayden Coombs

AP Stylebook (57th Edition) or AP Stylebook Online (subscription) 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Report and write accurate, deadline-driven sports stories using professional journalistic standards appropriate for print, digital, and multimedia platforms.
  2. Conduct effective interviews with athletes, coaches, administrators, and other stakeholders in both structured and unstructured environments (e.g., sidelines, press conferences, feature settings).
  3. Analyze and incorporate sports statistics, records, and data to support clear, contextualized, and compelling storytelling.
  4. Apply news judgment to identify angles, determine story value, and develop second-day and enterprise story ideas beyond basic event coverage.
  5. Write multiple forms of sports journalism, including game stories, profiles, features, columns, sidebars, and multimedia-supported enterprise pieces.
  6. Demonstrate proficiency in AP style, grammar, and mechanics, producing copy that requires minimal professional editing.
  7. Integrate multimedia elements (audio, video, photography, graphics, or digital storytelling tools) to enhance sports reporting and audience engagement.
  8. Develop a professional voice and reporting identity appropriate for contemporary sports media careers.

Course Requirements

Students are expected to complete all assigned reporting, writing, and participation requirements at a professional standard. This course is structured to mirror the expectations of a working sports newsroom, including deadlines, accuracy, collaboration, and revision.

1. Class Participation & Beat Coverage
Each student will actively participate in class discussions and newsroom-style activities throughout the semester. Students are expected to stay informed on current events, breaking news, and trends across the sports media landscape and contribute meaningfully to class discussions, writing exercises, and peer critiques.
Participation includes:
  • Regular attendance and punctuality
  • Prepared engagement in discussions and workshops
  • Active involvement in peer feedback and story critiques
  • Professional conduct consistent with a newsroom environment

2. Event Coverage / Game Stories
Students will complete multiple event coverage assignments, reporting on live sporting events (including SUU athletics and other approved competitions). These assignments emphasize deadline writing, accuracy, and on-site reporting.
Students are responsible for:
  • Attending assigned events
  • Reporting accurately and ethically
  • Submitting stories by strict deadlines
  • Notifying the instructor in advance of any unavoidable conflicts
Failure to complete event coverage as assigned will negatively impact the final grade.

3. Current Issues Writing
Students will produce short-form blog or news analysis posts responding to current sports issues, trends, or breaking news. These pieces must move beyond opinion and demonstrate strong reporting, contextualization, and synthesis of multiple perspectives.
Blog posts will be:
  • Discussed and critiqued in class
  • Used as foundations for class discussion and writing development

4. Feature Story / Profile
Students will write a 750–1,000 word sports-related profile focusing on an individual connected to sports (e.g., athlete, coach, administrator, student, or community figure).
Requirements include:
  • At least one in-depth interview with the subject
  • At least two additional sources
  • A focus in the subject’s life, identity, or experiences beyond competition

5. Additional Journalism Assignments
Throughout the semester, students will complete shorter reporting and writing assignments designed to build foundational skills across multiple sports media formats. These may include:
  • Game stories
  • Columns
  • Sidebars
  • Book or media reviews
  • Podcasts or audio stories

6. Enterprise Final Project
The culminating project is a 1,000-word enterprise story examining a trend, issue, or broader topic in sports. The project must demonstrate original reporting, depth, and professional storytelling.
Requirements include:
  • At least three sources
  • A 500-word sidebar
  • At least one multimedia element (video, photo gallery, podcast, audio slideshow, or infographic)
Students may earn up to 5% extra credit on their final course grade for incorporating additional high-quality multimedia elements.

7. Drafts & Revisions
All major writing assignments will be completed in multiple drafts. Students are expected to:
  • Submit initial drafts on time
  • Incorporate instructor and peer feedback
  • Demonstrate substantive improvement in final submissions
Revision is a required part of the reporting and writing process and is treated as a professional expectation rather than an optional opportunity.

Course Outline

This schedule is tentative and subject to change at the instructor’s discretion in response to news cycles, event availability, and instructional needs.

Week 1 – Course Introduction & Foundations
  • Course overview, expectations, and newsroom mindset
  • History of sports media
  • Reading: History of Sports Media
  • Review of syllabus and course workflow

Week 2 – AP Style, Grammar, and Book Reviews
  • Introduction to AP style and sports journalism conventions
  • Grammar refresh for professional writing
  • Book review structure and expectations
  • Blog: Show & Tell
  • AP Style lecture and worksheet

Week 3 – Sports Writing & Cultural Context
  • No class (MLK Day)
  • Sports and culture: memory, identity, and participation
  • Blogs:
    • NFL Conference Championships or College Dance Nationals
    • Favorite sports moment you participated in
  • AP Style worksheet practice

Week 4 – Book Reviews & Sports Context
  • Writing and evaluating book reviews
  • Sports, health, leadership, and social responsibility
  • Blogs:
    • I Came as a Shadow
    • Healthy lifting habits
  • Stats, box scores, and reading data
  • Book Review #1 due

Week 5 – Game Stories & Event Coverage
  • Game stories and recaps
  • Writing on deadline
  • Using box scores and quotes effectively
  • Blogs:
    • Who was traded for what?
    • Are eSports a sport?
  • Game story practice
  • Game story due

Week 6 – Column Writing
  • What makes a strong sports column
  • Voice, argument, and storytelling
  • Column case studies and classic readings
  • Blogs:
    • How to get students to attend SUU sporting events?
    • Column writing reflections
  • Edited game story due
  • Optional extra credit event coverage

Week 7 – Column Development
  • No class (President’s Day)
  • Pitching and refining column ideas
  • Blog: Potential column topics
  • Column assignment due

Week 8 – Previews & Anticipatory Writing
  • Writing previews and advance stories
  • Framing expectations and storylines
  • Blogs:
    • Most embarrassing sports moment
    • Preview examples
  • Edited column due
  • Game preview (advance story) due

Week 9 – Sports Podcasting & Audio Media
  • Introduction to sports podcasting
  • Audio storytelling and audience engagement
  • Blogs:
    • Favorite sports media
    • Best player you’ve seen
  • Podcast outline due
  • Podcast assignment due

Spring Break
  • No class meetings

Weeks 10–12 – Feature Stories
  • Interviewing techniques (Part I & II)
  • Feature story structure and narrative development
  • Identifying angles and enterprise ideas
  • Blogs:
    • March Madness
    • Feature story examples
    • Feature story ideas
    • Feature angles and ideas
  • Feature story due

Weeks 13–14 – Sidebars & Accountability
  • Writing sidebars and supplemental stories
  • Sports accountability and media responsibility
  • Blogs:
    • Why I love sports
    • Holding officials accountable

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late work is never accepted unless previously discussed with instructor PRIOR to the assignment being submitted. 

Attendance Policy

  • Taken daily
  • Up to 3 unexcused absences allowed
  • Each additional unexcused absence reduces final grade by 3%
  • Arriving after roll call = absent
  • University-sanctioned absences and sick days may be excused with proper documentation

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.