Sporting Life - Westminster College

www.westminster.eduhave received the same education at a non-private or non-liberalarts school.”Despite his many professional accomplishments, Dietz is mostproud of a personal milestone this year: He and wife Kristie welcomedtheir first child, Jordan, on January 30. While he no longerkeeps close contact with many fellow Westminster alumni due togeography, Dietz is pleased to see so many fellow Titans workingin the sports communications field.“I know Jennifer (Moreau) and I were two of the first ones outof that mid-‘90s era to go into the business, and I am pleasantlysurprised to see all the people that followed. The most powerfulmarketing tool available is word of mouth, having your peers makeyou aware of opportunities. That has clearly continued to this dayat Westminster.”* * *Lauten’s path to Super Bowl XL began in his hometown ofFombell, near Ellwood City. After graduating from Riverside HighSchool, he followed in the footsteps of his older sister Kelli LautenGonzales ’97 in attending Westminster. He also followed Kelli’slead when it became time to start charting a career path.“Kelli had interned in the sports information office at Westminster,but didn’t go into the field as a career. To be honest, I did verylittle in the way of career preparation my first three years of college,but my senior year she encouraged me to work in the SID office likeshe did. It was a great experience covering a lot of different homeevents – that’s where it all began for me.”While the home games provided him with experience, it was aroad trip that convinced Lauten that a career in sports communicationswas right for him.“The final Titan football game of the 1998 season was at NorthernMichigan University, located on the Upper Peninsula. Becauseit was also the first week of basketball season and Westminster alwaysopens with the Buzz Ridl Classic, I got to fly with the footballteam to the game at NMU. I remember coming back from thatexperience and deciding – that’s it. I want a job someday where Iwill fly to football games. From that point on, I began looking foropportunities to reach a position like that.”The first stop was in Oxford, Ohio, for an internship at MiamiUniversity. Lauten was hired on the recommendation of fellowWestminster graduate Angie Renninger ’97, who serves as associateSID at Miami. The internship turned into a full-time positionthe following year. Lauten had spent less than a year full-time atMiami when a similar position opened at the University of Pittsburgh.Returning to Western Pennsylvania, he spent 4 1/2 years atPitt before parlaying that experience into the job with the Steelersin the summer of 2005.“It is weird to look back on it, but my career track has taken mefrom the small-college level to a mid-major Division I program,then to a large Division I program, and finally to the NFL. The goalsare the same at all four levels, but the resources are so different thateach level required different strategies to get the job done,” saidLauten, noting that fellow Westminster graduate Rich Dalrymple’82, who serves as PR director for the Dallas Cowboys, was one ofthe first people to congratulate him on the new position. Lauten alsoworks daily with former Titan football great Matt Raich ’94, whoserves as an offensive quality control assistant coach for the Steelers(see related story p. 19).The conversation shifts back to the Super Bowl, which is still abit of a blur to the sleep-deprived Lauten. After defeating Denveron the road in the AFC Championship game on Jan. 22, the team re-turned back to Pittsburghat 10:30 p.m.that night. Lautenand the rest of thestaff stayed up allnight to finalize thepostseason mediaguide, in order tohave it ready whenthe crush of nationalmedia arrived atthe team’s doorstepat seven the followingmorning.“Just from thetime we took offfrom Denver to thetime I landed, myvoicemail had 15messages – everysingle national network,plus all ofour local media,”Scott Dietz ’98 (far right) looks on while keeping stats ata Wheaton College men’s basketball game. Dietz landed apart-time job with the sports information office at Wheatonwhile on vacation and is now assistant athletic director formedia relations.Lauten said. “On that flight, (Steelers PR director) Dave Lockettand I decided that we would only allow one-on-one interviews inthe first week after the AFC title game – there would be none theweek prior to the Super Bowl. That seemed to work out pretty welland keep things at a manageable level the week before the game.”The hard work paid off, not just because the Steelers earned theirfifth Super Bowl ring. “After the game, our office got a number ofcompliments from the media for the job we did. It felt good to knowthat all the time and planning was appreciated by the people wework with,” Lauten said.“The best thing about the Super Bowl, to me, was that my familygot to experience it with me. My mom and dad were there, alongwith my wife (the former Amy Shallenberger ’98). They were notonly happy for the team, but for me as well. After the game, mymom was nearly in tears with happiness. That really topped it offfor me.”A pair of individuals stood out for Lauten from his time at Westminsteras helping prepare him for the future. “Mark Meighen(Westminster senior director of advancement administration) was aformer SID who gave me some good insights while I was in college– dealing with coaches, managing time, and interviewing basics– plus basic life advice. He treated me like a peer. Also, having JimRaykie teach journalism class was a real plus. He was someone notteaching theory, but rather someone who said – listen to me, I dothis every day. This is how you are expected to do things.” Raykieserves as editor of The (Sharon) Herald in addition to being an adjunctfaculty member at Westminster.Asked what, after working with a Super Bowl champion beforethe age of 30, he could possibly do for an encore, Lauten demurred.“Personally, I hope to retire from here someday. Everyone told meto enjoy every minute of the Super Bowl experience, because youdon’t know if you will ever get another one, so I tried to do justthat. Don’t get me wrong – I hope the Steelers win five more SuperBowls and I get to work each one of them. But no matter whathappens in the future, nobody can take this experience away fromme.”(Onderko is sports information director at Westminster College.)Winte r 20 06 • Wes tminste r C ollege Magazine23