Photo of Manhattan University Sports Production Truck interior shot.
MANHATTAN UNIVERSITY PHOTOSHELTER / COURTESY
Zendrah Bonnick Asst. News Editor
Manhattan University’s (MU) sports media production has been live-streaming games with ESPN+ as part of its coursework for the past few years. The Quadrangle was able to obtain interviews with some members of the sports production team including Sadie Fox, Vivian Nartey and Joe Ruggiero, sports producer and director, to gain more insight on the program.
Ruggiero, who teaches advanced sports media production, spoke to The Quadrangle about how sports media production first came to MU.
“It had just started right as I came in,” Ruggiero said. “The communication department at Manhattan University purchased a production truck to facilitate the needs of the conference that we’re in… once they had the production truck and [sports media production] concentration in place, they then reached out and did the process to hire the producer and director, and that’s where my role came in.”
During his interview, Ruggiero later discussed how students get involved with sports production at MU.
“You can take my classes as an elective, [whether] you took [similar] classes before, or just want to get involved,” Ruggiero said. “Even if you’re not working games, if you’re just a student that’s super interested and you want to get involved in the production truck, I invite everybody to make an appointment. I’ll show them around the production truck…we’ll train on a specific piece of equipment in the truck, or cameras, or replay system, graphic system, whatever it might be.”
Sadie Fox, a junior studying English and communication with a sports media concentration, commented on her experience as a part of the sports production team during an interview over email with The Quadrangle.
“I had previous experience in production technology through my experience with Manhattan Media Network and some other personal projects,” Fox wrote in an email to the Quadrangle. “However, previous experience is not necessary. Our producer, Joe Ruggerio, and returning classmates all work together to teach each other how to do everything and make the experience as easy as possible. Most of the things I have needed for the class I have learned over time through trial and error and from the other people in the class.”
Ruggiero further elaborated on the different ways students learn production in a more hands-on course.
“They can shadow a game, they can sit next to somebody and watch a position how they do, they can shadow how we set up the broadcast and how we break down the broadcast,” Ruggiero said. “A lot of the helpful teaching, even if people get to my class for the first time and they haven’t done any [production] before that, a lot of the great teaching comes from the other students in the class.”
Vivian Nartey, a senior majoring in communication with a concentration in sports media production, commented on training, and about how producing live television can be a daunting and exciting opportunity. She told The Quadrangle what advice she had for students who want to get involved, but are nervous.
“Go to the games first because that’s probably the best experience…” Nartey said. “Pay attention to how they’re doing stuff during their production. What kind of story are they trying to tell? Because a lot of it is storytelling about ‘who’s the favorite to win this game?’ or ‘who are the best players in this game?’ and you’ll see the story come alive through the way that the announcers talk about certain players, or certain camera cuts.”
Fox elaborated further on the many roles that go into live sports production at MU.
“At a normal game, we have about nine students working in different positions,” Fox wrote. “There are students working cameras on the court, a student working to let the officials know when to resume play after time-outs and four students in a truck outside that work the switchboard, graphics, stats and instant replay… Joe Ruggiero has to plan a lot before and after games, along with teaching us during live broadcasts, to make the games run smoothly, but also make it fun for the students.”
Ruggiero told The Quadrangle about the growth of the sports production program, and how high morale and teamwork played a big role in the production team’s successes.
“It started with two students in the class, because nobody knew what it was yet, now our class has a roster of 19, which is the most we’ve ever had,” Ruggiero said. “Every year, it goes up a few and a few, and it seems like we’re getting pretty popular. I’m liking that because we’re only as good as the students that we have… I rely on them because they really do produce a lot of what we do in our productions. Without them, I don’t have a job, [so] I am always very thankful to my students.”