From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big momentsThe future of live sports production remains bright. Back for Season 2, SVG Students To Watch spotlights the next generation of live-sports-production professionals. Across campuses nationwide, students play a key role in bringing their schools' games to fans: producing shows, directing broadcasts, running replay, building graphics, operating cameras, engineering workflows, and more. This series celebrates the young talent already making an impact today and preparing to shape the future of sports-video production.
Addison McGhee
College: Auburn University
Academic Year: Junior
Hometown: Opelika, AL
Roles: Director, Technical Director, Assistant Director
What drew you to live sports production, and how did you get started?
I started working in sports production my junior year at Opelika High School working for the Football Video Crew. At first, I was drawn in by the fact I needed an after-school job, but, after a few games, I just fell in love with it. The atmosphere and the sound of the crowd after a big play had such a huge impact on me and my want to continue to work in sports production.
McGhee, a junior at Auburn University, has gained experience across live sports production as a director, technical director, and assistant director. She also runs camera during Tigers baseball games.Are there any aha moments when you realized you really loved a particular role?
I think the first aha moment I had was also the moment I knew that sports production was the career I wanted to pursue. I was a junior in high school at Opelika, and it was my first game technical-directing/directing for the videoboard. There was a huge sack that we replayed on the board, and hearing the crowd react from the press box lit something up inside me. It felt amazing! That's when I knew that sports production was what I wanted to do forever.
It's also just motivating to work on shows and games where you get to watch kids see themselves up on the videoboard and have the biggest smiles on their faces. It always takes me back to when I would go to Auburn Women's Basketball games with my dad and see myself up there. I remember how big an impact that had on me at such a young age.
One of the biggest moments directing so far was when Bub Terrell hit a walk-off single against UWG last spring. It was a passthrough broadcast so I only had a camera up in the crowd behind home plate and a camera out in centerfield. The morning I saw the program from the broadcast on probably every baseball social-media page there is, I got a ton of feedback that was beyond great for me to hear, especially just starting out. It was awesome to be able to document the game and assure myself that I knew what I was doing during a time I was doubtful if I was going to be a good director.
What has been your favorite project or game that you've worked on, and why?
One of my favorite games that I worked on was the 2025 Iron Bowl. I grew up around Auburn and as an Auburn fan. The Iron Bowl being at home and getting to work on the videoboard crew was important to me. It was genuinely a fun experience.
One of my other favorite games that I worked on was the 2026 Oklahoma v. Auburn baseball series. At the time, Oklahoma was No. 14, and Auburn was No. 11 in the AP Poll. It was my first time directing for an entire three-game baseball series. It was a fun series to work, and my crew was amazing. I feel like we had it all that entire series: a rubber match going into Game 3, and then Auburn walked it off in the bottom of the 8th inning to get a run-rule win. Then, of course, Oklahoma went on in the NCAA D1 Men's College World Series so now it's an especially fun series to look back on.
McGhee works behind the scenes with War Eagle Productions, building her skills in the control room and on live Auburn Athletics productions.And then, when Auburn hosted Regionals last spring, there was a game against Milwaukee when they played until almost 1:30 a.m. after the game was delayed for hours due to rain. It was a fun experience even though I absolutely crashed when I got home that night.
What's the most challenging aspect of working in live sports production as a student?
The most challenging aspect is definitely time management between work and class. What we get to do at War Eagle Productions is so much fun but is also a huge time commitment. There will be days that I have a shift right after class, and I have 10 minutes to make a 13-minute walk. It takes a ton of discipline that I've learned over the years to get things done beforehand. I absolutely love what I do and will happily make the sprint to be in time for call time.
What is one role, skill, or area of production you're trying to improve in right now?
Right now, I'm trying to improve in my role as a director. I started directing videoboard shows at Auburn around the middle of fall semester my sophomore year, so directing is still pretty fresh for me. I want to improve my communication skills when talking to people in the field as well as settling into a leadership role in the control room.
What are your career aspirations after graduation?
After graduation, I want to continue to direct either at another school broadcast group or at ESPN.
One of McGhee's highlights at Auburn was working the Iron Bowl. Here she is joined by the full War Eagle Productions student team prior to that game against Alabama last year.What advice would you give to your freshman self or to another student hoping to get started in live sports production?
The advice I would give my freshman self or any freshman getting involved with sports production is to trust the process and go all-in. There are going to be several growing pains and
