Pro Football Writers of America press release:
The Houston Texans public relations staff has been selected as the 2012 Pete Rozelle Award winners by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
The Texans, the 23rd Rozelle Award winners, earned the award for the third time in the past six seasons and the fourth time overall (2004, 2007, 2010, 2012), the most among NFL club public relations departments.
The Rozelle Award is given to the NFL club public relations staff that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. The award is named for Rozelle, NFL commissioner from 1960-89, who started his distinguished career in sports PR roles as a student at both Compton (Calif.) Junior College and the University of San Francisco. After two more years as USF's assistant athletic director after graduation, he broke into the NFL as the PR director of the Los Angeles Rams from 1952-55. Rozelle used his PR principles as commissioner to build relationships with the media during a period of unprecedented growth and challenge for the league.
Houston's PR department is led by Kevin Cooper (senior director of communications), assisted by Evan Koch (communications manager), Zac Emmons (corporate communications manager), Charles Hampton (communications coordinator) and Brett Maikowski (intern). Cooper, who just completed his second season in charge of the club's PR efforts, has been a part of all four Rozelle Award-winning Texans PR staffs.
"They make you feel as if every one of their games is a home contest for you," said PFWA member Clark Judge, NFL columnist for CBSSports.com. "They find you immediately when you arrive on game day, ask what you need, then respond to your requests. I always evaluate staffs by how quickly they respond, and I always, always, always get a response from these guys within minutes of my request. Plus, they're extraordinarily accommodating."
