Mark Titus, author of the book Don't Put Me In Coach and former Ohio State University (OSU) basketball player, will come to the Miami University Bookstore April 25 to talk about his adventures at the end of the OSU bench and to sign books for fans.
In 2006, Titus made the OSU basketball team as a walk-on. Two years into his career as a first-class bench warmer, Titus began a blog dubbed Club Trillion in honor of his team statistics: one minute played, followed by twelve zeros for every other category.
The blog was an overnight success and after only a month caught the attention of ESPN's Bill Simmons who featured Titus on his podcast, according to Titus.
"I got about 40,000 page hits a day by the end of that season," Titus said.
Titus said he began blogging out of insecurity.
"I was used to being the best player in high school, and after two years on the bench I started this website to make fun of myself before other people could make fun of me," Titus said.
After gaining a following, Titus took a more positive attitude and decided to write a book after graduation. In his new book, Don't Put Me In Coach, Titus compiled all of the stories from his blog and added a few more.
"I told a lot of stories [in the book] that I wouldn't have told if I was still on the team," Titus said.
The book contains more crude humor than the online version, according to Titus.
Titus said the book is aimed at men between the ages of 18 and 35 who, "laugh at jokes about body parts and whatever else."
But, Titus has discovered that his following is more diverse.
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"I had an 80-year-old woman come up to me and tell me she loved it," Titus said.
Sophomore Courtney Bowers said she follows the Club Trillion blog and is looking forward to meeting Titus and reading his new book.
"I think his sense of humor is something that people can relate to," Bowers said. "He has a smart writing style that keeps you interested even when he's talking about mundane activities."
On his book signing tour, Titus said he plans to visit multiple colleges and is especially excited to visit Oxford.
"I've been going to Miami since I was a kid for basketball tournaments," Titus said. "I think it's a great college town and I was looking for a reason to come visit."
University Bookstore book manager Sarah Thacker said she is also looking forward to Titus' book signing event. Thacker is heading the promotional advertising for the event and sent advertisements to the athletic department and Miami students.
"I think the Mark Titus book signing is a fun way to end this semester," Thacker said. "His stories are fun and his ties to Ohio should draw a crowd."
According to Thacker, bookstore staff holds some additional excitement for the event because it will be a chance to showcase the recent renovations to the bookstore. The event will be held in the upper level of the bookstore in a section referred to as the trade book department.
"We had a Miami alumni who signed some books for students and faculty," Thacker said. "We would like to open it up for student and faculty authors and poets to use our space."
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