Ken Hoffman
lives for fall
Saturdays and
the park-like
setting.

MIKE ROSENBAUM
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

s the sports infor-
mation director for
Michigan State
University, Ken
Hoffman has
shared in many of the
Spartans' recent athletic
successes. Without hesita-
tion, he cites MSU's 1988
Rose Bowl victory as the
most memorable moment
of his seven years in East
Lansing.
But Hoffman is someone
who knows the value of
stopping to smell the roses
every day — not just on
Jan. 1. Asked what he
enjoys most about his job,
he points to day-to-day
pleasures, such as "the
daily contact with coaches
and student-athletes" or
MSU's "fabulous campus.
It's almost like working in
a park every day."
why
that's
And
Hoffman, whose career has
taken him through high
school, college and profes-
sional sports, prefers to
work in a college setting.
"I have a preference for
college and university
work because of the college
rivalries, the college spir-
it," Hoffman explains. "I
think also the security
tends to be a little better

athletic department's local
radio and television deals.
Hoffman, who's taught
classes in media relations
for athletes, feels that his
contact with the school's
student-athletes "is really
important, too. One of the
real perks of the job is get-
ting to know some of these
fine student-athletes, both
the men and the women."
Of all the athletes he's
known, Hoffman admits
that football star Lorenzo
White stands out for him.
White was an All-
American running back
who now plays for the NFL
Houston Oilers. At MSU,
White was a Heisman
Trophy candidate and was
often swamped by inter-
view requests. Hoffman
worked closely with White
on his interviewing and
media-relations skills.
Due to the power of tele-
vision, "so much of a
school's image is developed
and determined by the
public relations of student-
athletes who get inter-
viewed," says Hoffman.
For this reason, he also
carries the title of assis-
tant director for university
relations.
Hoffman deals not only

requests."
One advantage Hoffman
has is the fact that he's
worked in almost every
facet of sports during his
career.
He graduated from the
University of Toledo, then
coached and taught at the
high school level for seven
years and was an athletic
director for one season
before moving on to pro
sports. Hoffman was the
general manager of the
Grand Rapids Blades of
the U.S. Hockey League in

in colleges and universities
than it is in the pros,
where you're pretty much
tied to a coach or an owner
or a general manager...
"There's nothing like a
college campus on a fall
afternoon. Especially a fall
Saturday afternoon.
Hoffman's job can be dis-
tilled down to this: most of
what you see, hear or read
about MSU athletics origi-
nates with his office. It
produces written materials
about all of the Spartan
teams, including media
guides, news releases,
game-day media notes,
game programs, brochures
and schedule books. The
office arranges press con-
ferences and interviews
with MSU players and
coaches and organizes
most of the details of the

with athletes and the
media, but with the
school's coaches and
administration. He per-
forms a sometimes diffi-
cult balancing act, keeping
media people well-supplied
with information about
MSU athletics while at the
same time allowing the
school to put its best foot
forward.
One of the difficult
aspects of Hoffman's job is
"trying to please all of the
coaches in terms of their
desire for publicity and
what they want for their
programs. And to make
people understand that
the sports information
office doesn't control what
goes in the newspapers. It
simply presents and
releases information and
helps media with their

1976.
The Blades were league
champions in Hoffman's
one year on the job,. but his
career goals were already
shifting.
He enrolled at MSU,
where he earned a mas-
ter's degree in journalism
and also worked in the
sports information office
under longtime sports
information director Fred
Stabley Sr. Hoffman still
considers Stabley as one of
the prime influences on his
career.
Hoffman was sports
information director at the
University of Detroit for
five years and published
Prep Football Weekly for
three years.
He left U-D to become
the public relations direc-
tor for the Michigan

"

Ken Hoffman is center stage on press day at Spartan Stadium.

Panthers of the U.S.
Football League for two
years. But when the
Panthers moved to
Oakland, Calif., in 1985,
Hoffman declined to move
west because he didn't
want to be that far away
from his daughter,
Natalie, who lives with
Hoffman's ex-wife in Ohio.
Hoffman and his wife,
Brenda, are expecting
their first child this fall.
After the Panthers left
town, Hoffman was public
relations director of
Michigan International
Speedway for one year,
then worked for the Toledo
Blade for another year
before returning to MSU
in 1987 as an assistant
sports information direc-
tor. "I'd never been the
assistant before in any-
thing," Hoffman recalls.
"So that was different."
But Hoffman returned
knowing that then-director
Nick Vista would retire
the following year and
Hoffman was a prime can-
didate for the spot.
As much as Hoffman
enjoys his work, it's not all
roses. Hoffman and his
department have handled
several controversies,
including recent accusa-
tions in a lawsuit by for-
mer basketball player
Parish Hickman — who
claimed that he received
illegal perks from MSU
alumni — and the battle
between the athletics
office and the school
administration over
whether or not George
Perles should retain the
dual responsibilities of
football coach and athletic
director.
Hoffman says the
Hickman case was "just
like any other major item
or event...The first couple

MSU REP page 50