SVG All-Stars: Sarah Backerman, Senior Director, Production Operations, Big Ten Network After a decade out west, a behind-the-scenes superstar returns to her roots By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 - 10:18 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In an era when sports production is evolving faster than ever, a new generation of leaders is beginning to make its mark on the industry. Our new SVG All-Stars series explores the journey of the industry's rising executives, showcasing their experiences and career highlights in the business, overarching philosophy and leadership strategy, technological and creative innovation, and where they see the industry headed. Join us as we uncover the story behind their ascent and the impact they are having in an ever-evolving industry.
During a volatile time of conference realignment across college athletics, the Big Ten Network sought a steady hand and a familiar face this past summer when adding four new schools to its roster.
Sarah Backerman at the Big Ten Network set outside the 2024 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, CA
Sarah Backerman got her start in Big Ten country. The Michigan State University graduate cut her teeth as a freelance producer and StudentU coordinator for BTN, helping steer student-produced live productions for the network. Then, an exciting opportunity at the burgeoning Pac-12 Networks took her west, and her career exploded.
For nearly a decade, Backerman was instrumental in P12N's live production of thousands of sports events, helping pioneer operations behind the network's innovative remote-production infrastructure. When the Pac-12 fractured and Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington moved to the Big Ten, BTN knew exactly whom to call.
[Sarah] has come in and made an immediate impact, says Mark Hulsey, SVP, production/executive producer, Big Ten Network. Her relationships with the four incoming schools and vendors got us off to a smooth start.
Sometimes, life has a funny way of coming full circle.
Backerman at a USC football game in Los Angeles last month with (from left) BTN producer Denny Blount, play-by-play caller Guy Haberman, and analyst Yogi Roth
In this week's edition of SVG All-Stars, Backerman shares her story, what industry innovations she has her eye on, and her advice for making a mark in live sports production:
What are the key responsibilities of your current role?
As senior director, production operations, I oversee the operations team that manages live events from the 10 Big Ten universities across the Central and Pacific Time Zones. During my first year with the Big Ten Network, one of my primary responsibilities was facilitating West Coast expansion with the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington. This included preparing the venues, vendors, and crews we are using for live events. I also negotiate and manage vendor contracts for mobile units, graphics, and equipment rentals for enhanced production value.
What key industry trend do you see as having a major impact on your organization right now?
A collaborative effort continues between production, operations, and engineering to refine and improve our MICR (Multi-Cam Insert Control Room) Productions. The addition of the Appear encoders have allowed us to bring back more cameras and feeds to our Chicago studios, including the use of super-slo-mo on these events. These types of enhancements allow us to effectively cover more events with more production value, including football, as MICRs. Storytelling also continues to improve with the use of Libero for enhanced telestration, and the increased content creation that is shared from campus producers, who are located at each university, and our in- house features team. A centralized location producing a large number of events allows the opportunity to do live look-ins from all games across the conference, including B1G+ events, to update fans in real time.
Backerman working as a student for Michigan State's Spartan Vision in 2010
What is one core philosophy you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
I have had the incredible honor of working with some amazing teams during my career. Teamwork has been a foundational philosophy for me. Building trust through respect, kindness, and clear communication are integral in creating a team that enjoys coming together to get the work done.
What is your favorite event(s) you've worked?
This will sound strange coming from a Spartan, but one of my favorite events of all time happened at the University of Michigan. It was the first Big Ten Network StudentU game that went live on the linear network in November 2013. The StudentU program launched in 2009 with all the games streaming on the digital platform and some being edited and cut down to re-air, tape delayed, on the linear network. This event was produced completely with students from the University of Michigan - from the front bench and talent to the camera ops and technicians. These students worked hard to get to that point, and I was so proud to be there cheering them on! I have worked a lot of great events, been in fantastic arenas, and seen some amazing games, but this one has always stood out as such a moment of incredible growth.
More recently, I would have to say my favorite event was a USC football game in early September. I had the opportunity to be onsite with former colleagues from my early days at the Big Ten Network as well as those I had the pleasure to work with for years at the PAC-12 Networks. We utilized a drone for the game, and, in true USC fashion, the open did not disappoint. The pomp and circumstance covered by the crew with the amazing shots from the drone gave me chills watching from the truck!
Backerman overseeing a BTN StudentU production at the University of Michigan in 2013
How did you get started in
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
SVG All-Stars: Sarah Backerman, Senior Director, Production Operations, Big Ten Network After a decade out west, a behind-the-scenes superstar returns to her roots By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
