Bradley Scores Touchdown with Symposium Speakers

The 4th annual Charley Steiner Symposium for Sports Communication at Bradley University has locked in David Baker, president of the Professional Football Hall of Fame, and Chris Zorich, an All-American nose tackle from Notre Dame and current athletic director at Chicago State University, for its November 15 event.

Baker will participate in the sports issues panel, bringing a new perspective to the symposium with his intimate knowledge of the NFL. "He can share insight on topics ranging from health issues affecting retired NFL players to legal sports gambling as well as the future, safety, growth and general state of the game of football,” said symposium director Joshua Dickhaus. “The NFL is one of the most powerful corporations in the country, and we are excited to hear his take on what's happening." 

Zorich is in the middle of turning around a collegiate athletics program. “He knows the challenges facing public-college athletics programs in Illinois firsthand," added Dickhaus.

Baker was the fourth commissioner of the Arena Football League (AFL). The 6'9", 400-pounder was a power forward at UC-Irvine from 1971–75 and played two seasons of professional basketball in Europe. 

A 2nd round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1991, Zorich played six seasons for the Bears and one for the Washington Redskins. In 2007, the College Football Hall of Fame named Zorich one of its specially selected inductees — one of the youngest players ever named to this honor.

More details on the symposium and other notable speakers will be announced as they are confirmed.

The event's namesake, Charley Steiner (four-time Emmy Award winner, National Radio Hall of Fame inductee, LA Dodgers play-by-play announcer and Bradley alumnus), will headline the event. Bradley has the first named school of its kind in the nation in the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication. It offers numerous programs and the very best curriculum in sports broadcasting, promotions, new media, journalism and play-by-play announcing. The symposium is designed to provide students (and the community) with access to experts in the sports communication field.