Doba needs to step forward for media, fans

The student newspaper at Washington State University made a bold statement last Monday.

In protest of the athletic department policy of not holding a Sunday press conference by the football coach, the Daily Evergreen ran a picture of the Stanford game, a headline and … white space. No story.

The reasoning was there was nothing to report, thanks to the lack of media access at Washington State.

You may quibble with the students for the method they used to bring attention to this issue, but it is a valid complaint. This is the same school lauded for its access in years past, and for obvious reasons. Its remote location gives WSU a distinct media disadvantage with the likes of the University of Washington. It only makes sense to be as accessible as possible.

For years, Washington State has had a Sunday press conference with the coach. It gave reporters a chance to ask questions of a coach who has had time to see the film and analyze the team’s performance.

The beneficiary? The fans. The readers. Even the team and coach. The press conference allows equal access to everyone and helps the coach, because he doesn’t have to explain over and over again the same stuff.

This year we don’t have access to WSU head coach Bill Doba until Tuesday. That’s too late for reflection. If it’s a loss, the coach doesn’t have to worry about explaining what went wrong.

This lack of access really comes down to one man, Doba. He doesn’t want to do it. He is one of four Pac-10 coaches who doesn’t. It’s probably just a big pain trying to answer questions to which he has no answers. On the injury front, I would agree. Often, Doba really doesn’t know the injury status of players hurt on Saturday. But his analysis of how his team played, after seeing game films, is important to fans. He’s the boss and what he thinks regarding how his team played is important.

If the team is winning, the coach gets a pass from the fans. If WSU had upset USC, for instance, no one would care about our access issues. Still, what fan wouldn’t love to hear a success story from the coach? If the team is losing, a little damage control wouldn’t hurt. Yes, the writers will focus on what went wrong, but the coach is in the best position to explain what happened.

We get little insight after the game and nothing on Sunday or Monday.

We are left to come up with our own answers. So are the fans.

This isn’t a successful formula. Coaching is a brutal profession. In the end, it’s about wins and losses. But at a place that is trying to expand a stadium and build on a moderate fan base, providing more access wouldn’t hurt.

Fans will always care what the coach thinks, even when it’s not pretty. That’s a good thing. He should tell them before they stop caring.