CCM Media Production and UC Athletics make history with ESPNU broadcast

Thanks to a unique partnership between the UC College-Conservatory of Music's Division of Media Production and UC Athletics, students have had the unparalleled experience of producing live, multi-camera sports broadcasts for the ESPN+ streaming service since Fall 2020. Those student-produced streaming broadcasts made enough of an impression that UC was given an opportunity to help produce ESPNU's televised coverage of the UC vs. Tulsa men's basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. UC is the first school in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) to hold this distinction.

"Our partnership with UC Athletics provides the exact kind of student-centered and professionally relevant experiences that are at the heart of CCM's new Media Production curriculum," explains CCM Dean Stanley E. Romanstein. "Last year we completed a comprehensive update of our BFA Media Production program to aggressively focus on preparing digital content creators for sustainable careers as 21st-century digital storytellers."

"CCM Media Production’s curriculum updates are the results of a collective vision that is future-focused and fixated on the many new and exciting opportunities that await our graduates," says Media Production Division Head Kevin Burke. "Everything is designed to enhance the digital portfolio of our students, a critical component in the search for internships and jobs once they graduate."

“The students in our sports media classes have put in a lot of work in the past 18 months since our ESPN+ partnership launched with CCM and UC Athletics," says Joe Brackman, assistant professor of multi-camera production and a director for the broadcasts. An Emmy award-winning producer and director, Brackman joined CCM's faculty in July 2020 to help guide CCM Media Productions' new partnership with UC Athletics. That collaboration was a result of the AAC's mandate of multi-camera productions for live events on ESPN+, which in turn paved the way for this new opportunity with ESPNU.

"The chance for the students to contribute to a linear broadcast, working alongside professionals from ESPN, is unparalleled and provides for a tremendous learning environment for them," says Brackman. "The confidence that ESPN has shown in the capabilities of our CCM students means a lot to our program, and we're excited for our students to seize this opportunity."

"When we started our ESPN+ broadcasts a little over a year ago, our goal was to get them as close as we could to what fans see on ESPN's television broadcasts," says Matt Noonan, UC's Athletics' Lead Producer & Head of Talent. "Now, we get to help produce an actual ESPN television broadcast. It's a testament to how hard everyone on our crew has worked over the last year."

Further expansion allowed for collaboration with UC's Division of Experience Based Learning and Career Education to secure Co-Op 2.0 support, creating paid positions for involved students.

"I’m delighted with Professor Brackman’s ability to take this idea and put it into motion by working with our students, UC Athletics and ELCE for the Co-op 2.0 support, which has already resulted in two of our recent graduates landing full time positions with ESPN at its Bristol, Connecticut, studios," says Burke. "(This opportunity) is outstanding and spotlights the many positives of this unique collaboration that connects academics at CCM and athletics."

Read more at GoBearcats.com.

Formerly known as Electronic Media, CCM’s Media Production Division emphasizes hands-on, experiential learning that is student-centered, professionally relevant and focused on creative development.

CCM’s BFA program in Media Production is designed for students who wish to produce media rather than simply consume it. The program provides students with the skills necessary to tell stories and produce impactful media content. The curriculum is designed to provide students with the theoretical and applied foundation necessary for successful careers in filmmaking and digital cinema, television production, broadcast news and talent development, interactive and new media, social media, audio and video production and sports media.

CCM also offers an academic minor in Media Production.

Featured image at top: Students in a CCM Sports Media Production class working on UC Athletics broadcasts for ESPN+.