Sports and public relations are in Mike Soltys' blood. His father did PR for the University of Connecticut's athletic department, but Soltys' career at ESPN was really
just a backup when Profession Number One fell through: "I would have liked to be a professional basketball player," he says, "but I couldn't jump."
Gravitational barriers aside, Soltys did quite well for himself in the world of PR, even if it was just his fallback career. His first slam dunk was a mixture of fate and good
timing, as ESPN's launch coincided with his graduation from the University of Connecticut. He happened to run into its founder in a parking lot at his now-alma mater. Thanks to
the chance meeting, Soltys landed a spot as the first-ever intern for ESPN, and the rest is history.
But as history has shown, it's not always an easy climb to the top. The PR and media industries have faced their fair share of challenges and, due to the nature of ESPN, Soltys
had to contend with both - not to mention salacious sports scandals and athletes' massive egos.
"Ethics plays into the larger business of sports. A lot of the time that we put in is focused on issues that come up," he says. "Beyond doing publicity, ESPN is the largest
sports media outlet, so we're publicizing both a company and a media interest."
But for every professional challenge, there is a perk, especially for a guy who loves sports. His most notable to date? "The most exciting event for me was last year's men's
and women's NCAA championship - UCONN won both within a 24-hour period," Soltys says. "Then, in the same calendar year, my beloved Red Sox won the World Series. I was there for
the turning point Game Four against the Yankees. That was pretty special."
He also met the iconic Muhammad Ali at an event on Capitol Hill in 1999 and, this year, his ultimate PR dream will become a reality. With the consolidation of ESPN and
ABC Sports, he will be managing the publicity for the upcoming Super Bowl.
But in the end, his greatest task won't be managing PR for the largest sports conglomerate in the world. Rather, he'll be handling the schedules of his four children, aged
seven to 18 (his oldest daughter now attends UCONN but, unlike her father, she's an art major).
"Keeping up with the four of them," Soltys says, "is definitely the biggest challenge."