SVG College Summit Brings Video-Production Industry Together in Atlanta in the Midst of Unprecedented Change

SVG College Summit Brings Video-Production Industry Together in Atlanta in the Midst of Unprecedented Change More than 500 college-sports-video pros came together for the two-day conference By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Friday, May 31, 2024 - 1:13 pm

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As the college-sports industry undergoes seismic change, the video-production portion of the community came together this week for the annual SVG College Summit in Atlanta. With more than 500 college-sports broadcasters, athletic-video producers, technologists, and representatives of a wide variety of universities, collegiate conferences, and technology vendors in attendance at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, the Summit served as an invaluable confab for the community to discuss the latest challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

Chaired by Justin Brant, associate athletics director, Crimson Tide Productions, University of Alabama, this year's event comprised two days (May 29-30) of informative panels and presentations, production-training and career-development workshops, technology exhibits and demonstrations, and plenty of networking opportunities for attendees. In these unprecedented times - as the industry begins to confront the potential repercussions of the new revenue-sharing model with college athletes - the 2024 Summit was more important than ever.

The 2024 SVG College Summit drew more than 500 attendees in Atlanta.

Mainstage Sessions: New Media Department,' Hook 'em Horns Keynote, Paving a Career Path for Students This year's Summit kicked off with a high-level panel titled The New Media Department: Blurring the Lines Between Broadcast and Creative and featuring associate athletics directors from Alabama, Harvard, and Oklahoma. In collegiate athletics, the roles within and the demands upon internal media departments have evolved and expanded. From live broadcast to social to in-venue to OTT, the session delved into how staffs are evolving, content plans are changing to best maximize teams and student-athletes, and how it's all fitting together.

SVG's Brandon Costa (far left) moderated the opening panel with (left to right) Alabama's Justin Brant, Harvard's Imry Halevi, and Oklahoma's Jacob Potter.

This was followed by a case study (presented by Spalk) on how the University of Wyoming and other schools are deploying virtual and cloud production tools, such as Spalk's Virtual Commentary Studio.

Next up, the Keynote Conversation featured Jeff Hanel, assistant athletics director, video production, University of Texas at Austin. A massive facility construction in Austin, as well as the rebuilding of an in-house athletic-department arm, will help take UT into its next generation as it arrives in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) this fall. Hanel shared an insider's perspective on how he and his team built their staff and designed their multiple-control-room live-production headquarters. He also explained how university athletic departments are setting themselves up to thrive in a new era of live-content demands, a competitive creative and social-media space, the volatile world of NIL, and more.

Spalk Co-Founder/CEO Ben Reynolds (right) chats with the University of Wyoming's Dennis Trapani during one of the case-study sessions.

Day 1 of the Summit closed out with the 16th-annual SVG College Sports Media Awards Ceremony, hosted by ACC Network analyst Roddy Jones. Presented in association with NACDA and sponsored by Ross Video, this year's CSMAs celebrated the best creative content over the past year. Check out all of this year's CSMA winners HERE.

ACC Network's Roddy Jones hosted the 16th-annual SVG College Sports Media Awards in association with NACDA.

On Thursday morning, mainstage sessions resumed with Eyes to the Future: Paving a Path to a Career in Sports Video for Your Students. The lifeblood of college-video operations, students daily receive invaluable experience working on live shows, but how can university leaders better provide them the skills and the network necessary to take them into the career of their dreams after they graduate? Leaders from Program Productions and Warner Bros. Discovery offered their advice and their eagerness to extend a bridge to the future of the industry.

A case study presented by Imagine Communications and Gopher Digital Productions explored how the University of Minnesota successfully deploys a full ST 2110 IP system.

Midway through the morning, the Summit program split into two breakouts focused on Live Production and Creative, respectively.

Live Production Breakout: James Madison's New Broadcast Center, the Rise of IP and NDI, Auburn Goes Behind the Broadcast'

The Live Production track offered an insider's look at the design, construction process, and technology at James Madison University's new broadcast facility. Increased on-field success and a move to the Sun Belt Conference have JMU rising through the college-athletics ranks at a blistering pace. The new space helps the Dukes meet the demands of the conference's ESPN+ opportunities and takes JMU Sports Network's live broadcasts to a new level of quality.

A Day 2 panel on transitioning facilities to IP and NDI featured (from left) SVG's Ken Kerschbaumer, Georgia States' Chandler Apple, Vizrt's Chris Burgos, Diversified's Patrick Daly, Quince Imagin's Liam O'Hanlon, Notre Dame Studios' Scott Rinehart, and Ross Video's Stefan Tribble.

The conversation then turned to how facilities are transitioning to IP and NDI with a panel titled The Only Constant Is Change. With demands on the number of live productions that athletic departments deliver each year growing, technology continues to evolve at a breakneck pace. Leaders from Diversified, Geo

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/05/31/svg-college-summit-brings-video...
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