Sports Broadcast Journalism Makes History with First Student-Run Broadcast

On Saturday, April 30, the Canisius softball doubleheader against MAAC rival Manhattan at the Demske Sports Complex became the first Canisius home events entirely produced and staffed by undergraduate students in the Sports Broadcast Journalism 358 class.

In the seven-year collaboration between Canisius' athletic department and communications program, undergraduate students have played key roles in the athletic department's production efforts with games being shown live on ESPN3 and ESPN+. Last Saturday, for the first time, all of the production crew roles – everything from directing, to camera operators, to on-air talent – was handled by Canisius students.

"A full student production of the softball doubleheader was the final project for the class and the students took the responsibility head-on, and I think they did a fantastic job," Canisius director of digital media David Dee said. "Throughout the semester, students work behind the scenes to allow us to broadcast games on the ESPN platforms. But with this doubleheader, the class did everything from start to finish, and after reviewing with the group Saturday evening, I know they were pleased with the final product."

Since the fall of 2015, Canisius has produced nearly 400 home sporting events for air on ESPN3 and ESPN+. The four, five and six-camera HD game productions feature full ESPN-branded graphics, replay and two or three-person broadcast crews. The student productions are directed by the College's athletic communication and digital media staffs. These events are available to more than 99 million households and by an additional 21 million U.S.-based college students and military personnel. Games that are not available on ESPN3 or ESPN+ continue to be shown through the athletic department's Golden Griffin Broadcast Network at GoGriffs.com.

"Our program here is unique because we are able to give Canisius students practical, hands-on learning experience that helps boost the academic component to what we do," Dee said. "It is one thing to learn about using a camera by watching a professional, but this program allows our students to learn about it in a classroom setting and then actively use what they learned in class while working games. As someone who has worked in live sports production for more than 30 years, being able to put students in live production roles and watching them grow into future sports production staffers is extremely rewarding for me. This is a great recruiting tool for the College."

To learn more about Canisius' Sports Broadcast Journalism, contact David Dee via email, dee3@canisius.edu, or CLICK HERE.

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