It’s spring break on Bethany’s campus and that means students typically head to warmer climates or return home to visit family and friends.
However, for Bethany broadcasting students, it’s business as usual. Minnesota State hockey opened its WCHA quarterfinal best-of-three series with Alabama Huntsville at Verizon Center this past weekend and Bethany students were there to broadcast.
Broadcasting live sports requires you to adapt to change quickly. A winter storm rolled through southern Minnesota on Saturday prompting league officials to move up puck drop three hours to a 4:07p.m. start time. This required students to modify their production schedule, edits and their workflow for the day.
“The time change was a bit different. A change in schedule for any college student will cause conflicts. Getting up early wasn’t the best but it was well worth it getting the game in,” said game producer Tyler Rogers who began editing highlights at 9am in the studio.
The Mavericks, third in the PairWise rankings, are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament at the end of the month. For Bethany students, this means a big audience at Verizon Center and those tuning in on Flo Sports and on Charter Spectrum to watch the highly ranked hometown team.
The students know the importance of telling this team’s story and the responsibility they carry. “It’s all about what you want out of the hockey broadcast,” said Rogers. “Me being the producer, I feel that I have to set the tone for the weekend by providing content and making it a good broadcast. Many people are watching and are anticipating a good hockey game and broadcast from us.”
Behind the scenes, there are many moving parts to a typical hockey game at Verizon Center. There are between 20-25 Bethany students at every Maverick hockey home game running the show. Jobs include running camera, audio, replay, graphics, social media posting, directing, producing, reporter, video board operator, timeout coordinator.
With the sweep over the Chargers the Mavericks advance to this weekend’s WCHA semifinal matchup vs Lake Superior State at Verizon Center. As spring break continues this week, Bethany students know the sacrifice they are making by staying on campus to produce these games. Like the Mavs on the ice, these students have proven they are up for the challenge and the best is yet to come.
