Bianco inducted into CSC Hall of Fame - University of Texas Athletics (2024)

Talk about following in the footsteps of legends.

By the time John Bianco was promoted to media relations director of men's athletics at the University of Texas in 1998, three of his Longhorn forebears already had been inducted into the College Sports Communicators (then CoSIDA) Hall of Fame:Wilbur Evans in 1969, Jones Ramsey in 1976 and Bill Little in 1992.

If you're Bianco, that's a high bar set by your predecessors.

But he has met—and exceeded—that standard since first entering the business 35 seasons ago. That's why in 2024 Bianco joins a prominent group of Texas CSC Hall of Fame inductees, of which he is the seventh (including the Longhorns' first-ever sports information director, 2009 HOF class member Bill Sansing, of whom Bianco said was "a valuable resource and friend").

"John's passion and professionalism for his craft sets the bar in the profession," ESPN football analyst Kirk Herbstreit once said. "He possesses a skill set that Texas is fortunate to have."

Former Texas football head coach Mack Brown, now North Carolina's leader, recently posted about Bianco: "Easily one of the best to ever do it. Cares about coaches. Cares about the kids. Always willing to do whatever he can for the people he works with."

Bianco, now UT's senior associate athletics director for communications, credits a pair of CSC Hall of Fame mentors for much of his success.

While a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference triple jumper at Baldwin-Wallace College (now University), Bianco served as a student assistant under Kevin Ruple, a member of the 2008 CSC Hall of Fame class.

"I was a student-athlete and had no idea what my future was going to be; I thought probably coaching," said Bianco. "One day, Kevin offered me a work-study job in the SID office. He welcomed me in and showed me the industry. He even took me to the CoSIDA Convention, and that really opened the door for me. Bill Little was the CoSIDA president that year and I met him and many others, and everyone was so gracious with their time. Right then, I knew I had found a career path in athletics that I was excited about."

Bianco then held year-long internships at Arkansas in 1988-89, handling three men's sports (track and field, which won the NCAA indoor title that season, plus tennis and swimming and diving), and then at Fresno State in 1989-90. At Fresno State, he oversaw women's basketball and men's and women's track and field. Bianco then took a full-time position at Cincinnati for the next two years. He directed the Bearcats' football and women's basketball publicity efforts, as well as assisting with the men's basketball team that advanced to the 1992 NCAA Final Four.

In the fall of 1992, Little hired Bianco at UT as an assistant sports information director in charge of men's track and field and swimming and diving, along with secondary contact responsibilities with the football program.

"I'm forever grateful to Bill for the opportunity he gave me," said Bianco. "He brought me to Texas. He taught me the history of this great school, introduced me to the hospitality and storytelling he was famous for, and he showed me what it took to navigate the role of an SID at a very high level. To now be mentioned in the same breath as Bill and our legendary CSC Hall of Famers is an unbelievable honor."

Bianco also recognizes the role that his wife, Sonya, has played in his career. Like Bianco, she was on Baldwin-Wallace's track and field team where she won NCAA Division III high jump and heptathlon crowns and is a member of the Yellow Jackets Athletics Hall of Fame.

"She's an athlete, so she knew all about this industry I was getting into," Bianco noted. "Sonya has the patience of a saint, allowing me to do my job and supporting me through it all."

Their two daughters also can empathize about life in college athletics, as both played collegiate volleyball: Haley at Angelo State and Sabrina at New Mexico and Memphis. (And, Haley has now blessed John and Sonya with three grandchildren.)

By the mid-1990s, Bianco was moving towards the lead role in publicizing the Longhorn football team and he added some office management responsibilities. He then oversaw all men's sports with his 1998 promotion to men's athletics media relations director. Soon after, the Longhorns men's programs won national titles in baseball (2002, 2005) and football (2005) and got to the Final Four in men's basketball (2003). In 2002, he became an assistant athletics director, and he was promoted to associate AD in 2012.

Little, who passed away in 2023, once wrote of Bianco: "John not only worked with the media to understand his players; he worked with his players to understand and appreciate the media."

"The state of Texas is huge and we get lots of media coverage," Bianco said. "As I grew in the profession, I had great examples to follow. I got to see leadership at its finest from (athletics director) DeLoss Dodds and how to never get too high or too low. (former UT football coach) Mack Brown's attention to detail and ability to get the message of the program out was incredible, and he helped me learn how to manage crises at the highest level as well. And early in my career, (former Texas football head coach) John Mackovic taught me the important lesson of being firm, fair, direct and consistent. I really value the relationships I have not only with our student-athletes, coaches and staff, but with the media."

Bianco has earned the media's respect with his level approach.

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel once wrote that "John is among the best in the business at understanding and meeting the needs of the media while also promoting the best interests of his school's athletic program."

During his tenure at Texas, Bianco and his staff have promoted numerous All-Americans, national award winners and championship teams. For instance, he managed the publicity for Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams and Heisman runners-up Vince Young and Colt McCoy.

"John Bianco is the real deal," said McCoy when Bianco received a CoSIDA 25-Year Award in 2016. "He understands Texas, and he definitely helped me gain wisdom and knowledge on how to handle the media. I leaned heavily on him from that aspect all through college, and even in the pros."

Bianco said he learned a lot about being an SID during Williams' 1998 Heisman season.

"Ricky taught me as much about PR as anyone," Bianco said. "He was a creative person with lots of ideas. There were so many ebbs and flows during that season, but he achieved all of his goals. When he broke Tony Dorsett's NCAA career rushing record, on a 60-yard touchdown no less, everything came together at that moment, all of our plans and efforts, and we knew he would win the Heisman."

Bianco, who was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2016, takes pride working for an athletics program that has an incredible tradition of success and produces elite student-athletes across all sports. In the past four seasons alone, Texas teams have won 10 NCAA championships in seven different sports and the football team made it to the College Football Playoff semifinals. During his time on the Forty Acres, Longhorns have won 102 medals (54 gold) in seven Summer Olympic Games.

"The athletes who come here have big dreams, to accomplish great things here, be Olympians and pros," said Bianco. "For example, a couple years ago I walked into the dining hall and there was running back Bijan Robinson (the 2022 Doak Walker Award winner and eighth pick of the 2023 NFL Draft) eating and chatting with outside hitter Logan Eggleston (the 2022 AVCA Player of the Year and 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year). That epitomizes what Texas is all about. The coolest part of my job is I get to work with the best of the best, build relationships with them and share their stories. That's a dream come true for me."

Although a great deal of Bianco's time is spent with the Longhorns' football program, he is heavily involved with all his staff and closely follows the sports they oversee.

"I'm so fortunate to have a tremendous staff and worked with so many talented people over the years," he said. "I try to give my staff the tools that will empower them and then I let them run. I really appreciate the work that they do. It's important that we keep adapting and adjusting in this business, so I talk to our younger staff and hear what they're thinking, especially now that social media plays such a prominent role. We've always had a good balance of experience and youth, so we all help each other out when it comes to best practices in working with traditional media and broadcast teams, generating content, and all the various things we do.

"But at the end of the day, it's about building relationships, communicating with people and getting to know the student-athletes and coaches so you can tell their stories. You must have a strong and trusting relationship with them if you want to enhance their brand and the school's brand. Don't get stuck behind the computer; take the time to get to know them or you'll miss the story behind the person."

For 35 years, Bianco has been a model of effectively telling those stories. His deserved reward is induction into the CSC Hall of Fame.