Tyler Price: the man behind Baker athletics

Tyler+Price%3A+the+man+behind+Baker+athletics

Story by Krista Porter

It’s early on a Saturday, and while most people are still in bed, Baker’s Assistant Director of Athletics/Communications Tyler Price is preparing for a full day. Getting to the sporting events on campus is the easy part.

“I manage all the communication efforts of the entire athletics department,” Price said, “attending every home game of every sport to ensure that each sport is getting the coverage it deserves.”

On a typical game day, Price starts by making sure all rosters and game day programs are finished and printed. He then lugs three laptops for live stats and video, a camera for action shoots, a video camera for the live stream, and the multiple connecting cords from his Mabee Hall office to the sporting event location.

Setting up the media relations for the game is a long process. Price has to make sure that everything is hooked up and functioning correctly. It is imperative he shows up at the events two hours early For some games, he has to be sure the broadcast feed from Baker’s radio station, KNBU-FM, is simultaneous with the video.

“I want to continue to improve and evolve our athletics program in the future in any way I can,” Price said.

Once everything is set up correctly and the game starts, Price has to manually enter all stats during the game, make sure the live video is streaming, take action shots, update all social media platforms multiple times, and print and deliver stats to coaches at halftime. Luckily, Price has interns who help him with these tasks.

Price also writes all game stories for the Baker athletics website, which he does immediately following the conclusion of the game. When the game is over the whole media setup must come down, and the equipment goes back to his office .

Currently, he is in charge of running Baker’s athletics website, all social media platforms, and all game day media operations. He also produces press releases and is the official photographer of all Baker sporting events.

Price has run sports media for Baker since 2012. He also works as the NAIA men’s volleyball sports information director. Price took on that role while working at Park University with the men’s volleyball program in 2009.

This year’s NAIA men’s volleyball championship will mark the seventh time Price has helped with the event. He was named the 2012 American Volleyball Coaches Association NAIA Men’s Volleyball SID of the Year for his work with NAIA men’s volleyball.

He has received 10 NAIA-SIDA Top 10 in the Nation awards for his publications, including a first-place finish in the 2014 NAIA-SIDA In-House Website contest for his work with the official site for Baker University athletics, www.bakerwildcats.com. This award honored the site as the No. 1 NAIA athletics website in the nation in that category.

Price was born in Overland Park, Kansas, on April 10, 1985, to Linda and Larry Price. He had only one sibling, his younger sister Allyson. He attended Saint Thomas Aquinas high school in Overland Park, where he played football and basketball and threw the javelin for the track & field team. He graduated in 2008 from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism with an emphasis in radio and television.

“When I graduated high school I was 6-foot-3inchs,” Price said. “My freshmen year of college, I grew 5 inches to 6-foot-8-inches.”

Price spent his college years playing intramurals with his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. He also spent two summers working at NBC KSHB-TV in Kansas City as an associate sports producer for 38 Sports Spot television program and all evening newscasts. From his sophomore year until graduation, he worked in the sports information department at Kansas State University as a student assistant. Price served as the primary media contact for the women’s equestrian program.

After college, Price joined the sports information staff at the NAIA as a sports information intern. His first full-time position was at Park University in Parkville, Missouri, as the assistant sports information director. During his time at Park, Price ran publicity and media relations for men’s soccer, cross country, track & field, women’s basketball and softball. The position at Park was his only job before coming to Baker.

He currently lives in Overland Park with his girlfriend Rosalyn Anderson and 7-year-old daughter Maria Price. He said his daughter is very active and loves everything Baker.

“I see myself being at Baker for a long time,” Price said. “Being able to showcase all the great things our athletes are doing athletically and in the classroom is my favorite part of the job.”