Today is the rarest of days at Neyland Stadium. The media is welcome to interview the Tennessee football players of their choosing.

That’s why it’s called “media day.”

At least, that’s what UT and the media call it. I’m sure the players call it something else. As if their schedule won’t be restrictive enough for the next five months, they will have to spend the first Saturday of August being peppered with repetitive questions.

My advice: Forget “media day.” Think “job fair.”

I realize this is a stretch for college student-athletes, and not only because of their age. Most college football players expect to make a handsome living in the NFL.

The numbers say otherwise.

The numbers say these college football players, like most students, one day will find themselves looking for a job that has nothing to do with a game. But the game can help. So can the media.

Every interview is an opportunity for a player to make an impression on the public, which happens to include future employers. It’s an opportunity most students don’t have. In fact, it’s an opportunity most student-athletes don’t have.

College football and basketball players at major schools are celebrities. The media covers their on- and off-the-field activities, good or bad.

The same media also serves as a conduit to the fans.

While a player is limited in the impression he can make face-to-face with fans, he reaches far more fans through media interviews. Fans read about them in newspapers and media web sites. They see them on television and hear them on radio. They form an impression.

And they want that impression to be a good one. That’s why they’re called “fans.”

I recently exchanged e-mails with a Tennessee fan who described a rude encounter she and her family had with a UT student-athlete. I said the player always had been cordial and accommodating in interviews, for whatever that’s worth. She concluded that she caught him on a bad day.

Never mind their celebrity status. They’re still college students. Much older adults can’t always conceal their bad days.

But you can in an interview. And it’s worth the effort.

For example, if former UT basketball player Dane Bradshaw decided to make his home in Knoxville after he’s finished playing, employers would be lining up to hire him.

It’s not just that he helped UT win basketball games. It’s the impression he made on fans in person and through the media. As Bradshaw put it, “I treated my four years at Tennessee like a job interview.”

Anyone with anything to sell in Knoxville can see the advantages in hiring a UT athlete. Name recognition alone is one advantage. Moreover, college athletes have been in an extremely competitive environment throughout their career. They compete for playing time, for starting positions and to win games. They’re familiar with competition and accustomed to performing under pressure.

My godson, Carl Higgins, who was a college football player, got a good sales job as soon as he graduated last year. He wasn’t a star. He didn’t play at a major school. But his employer told him and his family how important it was that he had competed in college football.

The advantages of being a college athlete far outweigh the disadvantages. Media day is another reminder of that.

If the players handle it right, it can be their day, too.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.