The former Northwestern broadcast-operations leader is helping train the next generation of live-sports-production talent across the Big TenThe sports-production industry continues to evolve at a remarkable pace, fueled by new technology, new workflows, and a new generation of leaders pushing the craft forward. Now in Season 3, our SVG All-Stars series highlights the innovators and decision-makers driving that progress. Through each conversation, we explore their career paths, leadership philosophies, creative and technical breakthroughs, and the ideas shaping the future of live sports production.
Each year, Big Ten students produce more than 2,000 live events for B1G , gaining experience across directing, producing, graphics, replay, camera operation, technical directing, and on-air roles. At the intersection of producing high-quality live events in the present while training sports-production professionals of the future is BTN Senior Director, StudentU, Rob Coons.
Few people are better suited to balance those two priorities. Before joining BTN full-time in 2021, he spent more than 12 years at Northwestern Athletics, where he helped grow a one-person video operation into a wide-ranging department responsible for live streaming, creative content, television programming, videoboards, and centralized control rooms. His own career has crossed nearly every part of the production ecosystem, from sports anchoring and play-by-play to producing, directing, editing, and operations leadership.
That broad perspective shapes his approach to developing the next generation. Coons encourages experimentation once the fundamentals are in place. For him, StudentU is not simply a content engine; it is a massive live classroom, where students can test ideas, make mistakes, discover new strengths, and build the skills that will carry them into the industry.
In this edition of SVG All-Stars, Coons discusses how early access to production technology is changing the students entering college, why creativity and experimentation are essential to learning, and how trying every role can help young professionals find the career path that fits them best.
As senior director for Big Ten Network's StudentU program, Coons trains students in live game production at all 18 of the conference's schools.What are the key responsibilities of your current role?
I work with a fantastic team at Big Ten Network, the respective video departments across 18 Big Ten campuses, to teach and train the next generation of sports-production professionals in what amounts to a massive live classroom. Our BTN team provides equipment, training, and direct support to the students and staff who produce more than 2,000 live sporting events each year for our B1G app.
The StudentU program is designed to give the students hands-on experience with all aspects of a production, from directing to camera work, producing to graphics, on-air roles, and everything in between. My job is to ensure that we're balancing those learning opportunities with keeping the resulting product up to our brand standards and ensuring quality coverage for our teams and a good viewing experience for our subscribers.
What is one key industry trend (commercial, technological, etc.) that you believe is having a major impact on your organization right now (REMI, crewing shortage, IP, 4K/HDR, media consolidation, cost of media rights, shift to streaming, etc.)?
The availability of relatively low-cost technology is having a very interesting impact on what we do. High schools across the country are live-streaming sports (and other extracurriculars), adding videoboards into their venues, and giving students experience with live production far earlier than ever.
As a result, we're currently seeing more and more students arrive on campus and enter the StudentU program already having knowledge of at least some fundamentals. Increasingly, that means our focus can shift from starting at the very basics (this is how to white-balance, please make sure to follow the ball) to more-advanced concepts in producing and directing, which has in turn increased the quality of our productions.
What is one core philosophy you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
I'm a big believer that there's not just one single right way to do what we do, and that's something that I work with both our team and the students in the program to understand. When it comes to game coverage, there are certainly some basics that we need to ensure are handled: like following the ball, getting the score correct on the screen, etc. We also want to be sure to follow our network brand standards.
But, once we get those basics covered, there's a lot of room for creativity and trying new things. Can we put a camera in a non-traditional location and see how it looks? What if that graphic was done in a different format? Live sports aren't scripted, and the way we cover them shouldn't be either.
One of the things I love about StudentU is, we give students the chance to try things, see what works (and what doesn't!), and learn from it.
What is your favorite event(s) you've ever worked?
Prior to joining BTN, I oversaw broadcast operations (live production and creative video) for Northwestern University Athletics. In March 2017, our men's basketball team capped off a historic season with the school's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and getting to be a part of that ride was something I will never forget.
It started with directing our videoboard show during a miraculous last-second basket to beat Michigan and included trying to plan and program a Selection Sunday watch party inside an arena that was also an active construction site and very literally being torn down around us.
And, of course, a weekend in Salt Lake City when our first tourna
