By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm鈥�18) Jack Moody听and the CU Athletics Department
In his playing days, you couldn鈥檛 help but notice Kordell Stewart (Comm鈥�16) when he was on the field.
A harbinger of the mobile quarterbacks who were as eager to run the ball as they were to throw it, Stewart鈥斺�淪lash鈥� to the fans who adored the way he carved up defenses as a quarterback, wide receiver and rusher for the Pittsburgh Steelers鈥攚as impossible to miss.
That was also the case when he returned to the classroom in the spring as part of the Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership course created by the College of Media, Communication and Information. Stewart showed CMCI students how his communication degree helped him in both the huddle and the media scrum, as well as in a varied post-playing career that听has included charity service and being an ESPN analyst.
鈥淒ealing with the media can sometimes be a challenge because how you see it is not how they鈥檒l see it,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou need to understand it鈥檚 about you鈥攊t鈥檚 not about them.鈥�
But you need a different set of tactics when you鈥檙e leading your teammates on the field.
鈥淏eing a quarterback, you have to talk to everybody鈥攜ou have to learn people鈥檚 personalities, their threshold for pain, their emotions,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ow do you deal with all these different personalities? It鈥檚 not easy, but being a quarterback, that鈥檚 your charge.鈥�
Doing so effectively is about more than just what you say, said Timothy Kuhn, a professor of communication, who attended the lecture.
鈥淥ne thing he talked about was that as a leader, he recognized that he needed to read the body language of people听and get to a place where he could communicate without words,鈥� Kuhn said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we teach all the time鈥攖hat words are a part, but not the end, of communication.鈥�
A costly miscommunication
Ironically, it was a miscommunication that kept Stewart from completing his degree during his playing days. He shared how a misunderstanding with his professor鈥攚ho failed Stewart for missing class while he was meeting big-league recruiters鈥攎eant he entered the NFL draft one course shy
of graduating.
Returning to school in 2016 to retake that course was a challenge, but he hit his stride around the time his classmates realized the guy in the back of the room was, in fact, Slash.
鈥淭hat was the most fun I had in college,鈥� he said鈥攎ore fun, he insisted, than the 64-yard pass to Michael Westbrook that听silenced The Big House in 1994, capping off the Miracle at Michigan and creating one of college football鈥檚 most enduring moments.
鈥淭his was something where I had removed myself completely from this space, and found a way to come back to finish,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t made my time in Colorado feel complete鈥攑lay good ball, do well for yourself, now get your degree.鈥�
Crossing the finish line meant getting comfortable with the technology today鈥檚 students take for granted, but Stewart learned that connecting with classmates and communicating with faculty not only resulted in better academic outcomes, but also made the class experience more enjoyable.
From NIL to NFL
Another major change since Stewart left Boulder, of course, is the NCAA鈥檚 adoption of a 鈥渞ight to publicity鈥� that gave athletes control over their name, image and likeness, or NIL. He had plenty to tell the class about NIL, which was the genesis of the Prime Time course that has also featured guest lectures from Deion 鈥淧rofessor Prime鈥� Sanders and others.
鈥淣IL has become a guide to move forward throughout sports, because it happens when you go to the NFL,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淏eing able to start that process in college gives you the opportunity to create an image of yourself to your audience, to captivate that audience鈥攁nd that鈥檚 the intrigue.鈥�
However, it hasn鈥檛 changed what it takes to be successful in a sports media career.
For Stewart, it comes down to what he learned in his communication classes: People working in the industry 鈥渘eed to speak straight up. No one is being held accountable for foolishness.
鈥淵ou want to do this kind of work, you can鈥檛 be lazy with your facts. It鈥檚 like your听classes; you do your homework,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you start pulling stuff or making stuff up, you get discredited. Know your facts and know your audience. It鈥檚 not about being perfect, it鈥檚 about having a conversation."