FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — ESPN NFL Insiders Bill Polian and Mark Dominik will discuss the state of professional football and its ever-expanding media coverage at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, in Grand Ballroom 2 on Level 3 of the JW Marriott. The hourlong event, sponsored by the Sports Capital Journalism Program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is free and open to members of the IUPUI campus community and attendees of the Sports Management Worldwide NFL Combine Career Conference.
IUPUI students, faculty and staff should plan to arrive at 6:30 p.m. and present a university identification card.
Polian, who joined ESPN in 2012, appears on multiple platforms including “NFL Insiders,” “SportsCenter,” “NFL Live” and ESPN Radio. He was enshrined as a Contributor in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. As president and vice chairman of the Indianapolis Colts from 1997 through 2011, the franchise made 11 playoff appearances, won eight division championships, played in two American Football Conference championship games and won Super Bowl XLI. Polian was the first six-time winner of the National Football League Executive of the Year award from “The Sporting News,” as voted by his peers. His tenure in Indianapolis was marked by the decision to select Peyton Manning with the first choice in the 1998 draft.
“If Peyton Manning was the director of the Colts’ Super Bowl championship, Bill Polian was the producer,” said Malcolm Moran of the Sports Capital Journalism Program. “Bill has seen the state of coverage evolve from a less-formal seasonal approach to a relentless 12-month search for information. His insight will be invaluable for journalism students and others in the IUPUI community who want to understand the industry.”
As general manager of the expansion Carolina Panthers, Polian directed an organization that reached the National Football Conference championship game in its second season. In his seven seasons as general manager of the Buffalo Bills, the franchise made three Super Bowl appearances.
Dominik, a faculty member of Sports Management Worldwide, spent 19 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including five as general manager. The Buccaneers won a Super Bowl during the 2002 season when Dominik served as director of pro personnel. In 2014, he joined ESPN as an NFL Front Office Insider. He appears on “NFL Insiders,” “NFL Live,” “SportsCenter” and ESPN Radio.
The Sports Capital Journalism Program is part of IUPUI’s Department of Journalism and Public Relations in the School of Liberal Arts, home to the nation’s first graduate program in sports journalism. At IUPUI, sports journalism students cover a wide variety of major sporting events, including the College Football Playoff, NCAA men’s and women’s Final Four basketball tournaments, and the Indianapolis 500. Through campus events, students also connect with leaders in sports journalism and the sports industry.