10 Ways to Become (and Stay) a KSR Intern

If you are a college student and a KSR fan, there is an excellent opportunity out there right now to become a KSR intern. And you might think that you are a very qualified candidate with your two years dishing out ice cream at Baskin Robbins and three years JV field hockey experience at Highlands High School. But let me tell you, this is going to be a very competitive search.

All of you potential candidates are in luck. I am wrapping up my 15th year as a KSR intern this fall and in my decade and half of experience I have come up with 10 tips to get this internship, and most importantly, keep this internship into your late 30s:

10. Know Who The Boss Is

A lot of people think Matt Jones is the boss, even after the sale to On3. So you might think he’s the guy you need to impress. Oh no. Maybe you know that Tyler is the Editor in Chief so you think she’s the one making the decision. Nope. Maybe you think you and Drew have some kind of connection and he’d be your best friend so he has influence. Please. The real boss? Chris Tomlin. If you don’t have a funny knock-knock joke handy on command, you won’t be considered.

9. Bold Words Are Key

Most people don’t understand this but using the bold feature on your computer will draw more eyes to your application. Does it matter which words you bold? It absolutely does not. But this goes into the process of the brain. Not only do your eyes track the bold font but your brain makes you think it’s important. So use bold as much as possible.

8. Get Ready for Feminine Chatter

Tyler and Maria are the two most powerful people in the KSR world but is that what I’m talking about? Hell no. I’m looking at Roush, Drew, and Ghregorian. If I have to hear Roush talk about the new Maybelline line of products, Drew talk about the latest episode of The Bachelorette or Zack give us updates on his flower garden for another second. You want to talk football, look for the ladies’ section. If you wanna talk J-Lo, the fellas are where it is at.

7. Predictions? You Have None.

This website has done UK Football predictions for the past 10 years. I’m pretty sure Kentucky Joe was asked to give his game-by-game prediction one season. Will an intern, even one with 15 years experience, be asked for his or her thoughts? You will not. Don’t get your hopes up.

6. The Money is HUGE

Between you and me, Eric C. Conn is the shadow financier of the website. So yeah, we have some cash to throw around. And also a lot of snakes in the office.

5. What’s A Weekend?

Do you know my favorite time writing on KSR? It was definitely in 2010-2012 when on a crisp Sunday morning I had to churn out content at 9 a.m. about UK’s 38-point win over Eastern Michigan. The content just writes itself. If you are not a “morning person” you best break those habits really quick because the brain juices will need to be flowing early and often and you’ll really learn how to dig for info.

4. Do You Like Your Name?

I would estimate that around 60-70% of people at my wedding know me as BTI. That’s how much the nickname that Matt carelessly lobbed at me in 2007 has impacted my life. I hope you don’t think you’re just gonna be Chris or Katie or Rodrigo if you get this internship. Get ready to be CTI, KTI, or RTI for the next 15 years. Buckle in.

3. Are you Short? Everybody Else is Tall.

I stand at a very robust 5’7” tall. The heights of some of the KSR key contributors: Matt: 6’9”, Drew: 6’8”, Roush: 6’7” (unofficial heights). They are basically a Division-1 front line. My neck hurt for the first 5 years of my internship from looking up so much. And then you will emotionally look up to Tyler for what a great chief she is, so you’ve got that weighing on you too. Oh, and if you’re lucky enough to actually meet or interact with the actual athletes, they are tall too. Point being, us short guys have to overcome quite a lot with this job.

2. Don’t Be a Good Writer. Be an Interesting Writer.

Real talk, I feel that I am probably the worst pure writer on this site. It just doesn’t come easy to me to write well. Sorry Mrs. Hunsucker. And you should strive to be as good a writer as possible. Don’t make lazy mistakes, like forgetting to bold a bunch of words in each post. But more important than being a good writer is producing interesting content. If you are lucky enough to create posts of more than just news, think creatively. I’ve done plenty of posts that I knew most people would disagree with. But I also knew they would read it and think about it. And also be confused by the mass amount of grammatical errors. But you don’t get “BTI SUCKS” rolling being boring. So always be thinking about a creative opinion or topic you could write about.

1. It’s Too Much Fun

It’s not fair how cool it is to be a part of KSR. And it’s been lucrative for other interns to turn into other jobs. But always remember, they’ll keep you around for 15 years if you want. And why wouldn’t you?