What I Did on My Summer Vacation': SVG College Leaders Share What They Worked on and What Inspired Them for the New Academic Year

What I Did on My Summer Vacation': SVG College Leaders Share What They Worked on and What Inspired Them for the New Academic Year What technologies and workflows did they focus on, and how did they care for their teams and themselves? By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 - 2:56 pm

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The collegiate fall sports seasons are already underway and with Week 0 of the college football season upon us this weekend, major game days on campuses across the country are here.

Summers are short in the world of collegiate athletics and yet, however brief, they provide a valuable opportunity for those who work in video production to take a step back and take care of both their departments and themselves.

We asked some collegiate athletics video content leaders from across the country what they focused on this summer and how they set themselves and their teams up for success in 2023-24.

What was a major focal point of your offseason? Encouraging people to take some time off and get away from the office really unplug. Mike Bilbow, University of Georgia, Assistant Athletic Director Digital & Production

Changing the way we think about content. From reactive to proactive. From following to leading. From repeating to innovating. From churning out to thinking through. I want innovation to come naturally to my team. I want them to think about innovation not as something they're required to do, but rather as something they want to do. And that can't come from the top. I can't force anyone to innovate. I want them to internalize innovation, and we spent a lot of time in the summer talking about that. Imry Halevi, Harvard University, Associate Director of Athletics Content & Strategic Communications

Getting ready for 2023-2024 season and honestly taking time for myself and not coming into work when I didn't need to be. Mikayla Mosteller, The Citadel, Director of Video Productions

First, it was a little R&R then it was back to work. Working with Rocket Surgery to create a new graphic package for our BEDN [Big East Digital Network] telecasts, visiting with FloSports to build off our successes of last year, and finally crewing announcers for upcoming telecasts in the fall. Other than that, it was an easy summer. Lol! Scott Hecht, Big East Conference, Senior Associate Commissioner, Broadcasting

Current big picture topic is staffing and where NIL is headed in the collegiate space. What will be the future for Universities video/creative commitment to helping athletes and brands work as a team. Who can take on these possible new requests? Buddy Kimberlin, Texas A&M University, Assistant Athletics Director, 12th Man Productions

We decided to make the switch from 720 to 1080 this summer to enhance the look of our broadcasts. We had been doing 720 since we started because that was what ESPN wanted but since we aren't on ESPN anymore we figured why not make the switch? Andrew Kurtz, Monmouth University, Assistant Athletics Director for Live Broadcasting

We use our offseason to repair and organize our equipment. Producing over 200 events takes its toll on our gear. We prioritize making sure we are ready for the Fall as soon as the Spring concludes. Rick Babgy, Clemson University, Assistant Athletics Director / Video & Technology

The Ivy League Multimedia Directors have spent a significant portion of their summer focused on what we want the league broadcasts to look like three, four, five years down the road and the path and resources needed to get to that destination. Thanks to their discussions which began at our conference meetings at the SVG College Summit in June we collectively feel good about a roadmap that will be presented to the league's leadership in the upcoming year. Matt Panto, The Ivy League, Associate Executive Director, Strategic Communications & External Relations

We really focused this summer on thinking about and finding things we can do to continue to add elements and complexity to our broadcasts, through added technology, additional and more camera placement, adding audio elements and secondary viewing experiences. Eric Frey, Virginia Tech, Assistant AD, Broadcast & ACC Network

My wife and family. Maybe that's corny, maybe that's romantic, who can say? Either way it's true. Turns out I really enjoy being home with my wife and our dogs, as well as seeing family. Nicholas Case, Charleston Southern University, Assistant Athletic Director for Broadcast Services

What piece of media did you consume this summer that you really enjoyed? I watched as much Cincinnati Reds baseball on the MLB App as I could. Hecht

AppleTV. Clean, crisp, solid content. Great UI. This is where I've been a lot lately. Kimberlin

I think Quarterback on Netflix was great. Not only the content but how it was shot as well. Kurtz

Good old fashioned books! I made it a point to myself this year to read more, both fiction and non-fiction. I have a stack of unread books in my home that I move to a different finished stack as I get through them. Fray

I'll say it: I LOVED Barbie. Truly fantastic cinema. It was great to be back in the world of The Bear. Only Murders in the Building is back and still adorable. Plus the first edition of Summer Baking Championship. Sadly a light summer for my usual Star Wars or Marvel fare (Secret Invasion? It was fine!) Case

What inspired you? FOX Sports' asset management presentation at the SVG Sports Content Management Summit. (WATCH. Scott Rinehart, University of Notre Dame, Director, Broadcast & Streaming Technology (Thanks for the plug, Scott!)

Nolayingup.com - they're independent golf content creators- they excel at podcasts and video content. Have carved out a niche in a very lock

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/08/23/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacatio...
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