Center Stage
Center Stage
Students go behind-the-scenes of Texas/Alabama football game with Center for Sports Communication & Media
ESPN anchors (left to right) Rece Davis, David Pollack, and Kirk Herbstreit.
ESPN anchors (left to right) Rece Davis, David Pollack, and Kirk Herbstreit.
Students on the set of Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff.
Students on the set of Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff.
Students pause at an ESPN College GameDay picture station.
Students pause at an ESPN College GameDay picture station.
ESPN College GameDay airs at 9 a.m. CST.
ESPN College GameDay airs at 9 a.m. CST.
Fox Sports Director of Remote Studio Operations Rob Mikulicka showed students the inner workings of Big Noon Kickoff.
Fox Sports Director of Remote Studio Operations Rob Mikulicka showed students the inner workings of Big Noon Kickoff.
Fans waited in line from the night before to be let into College GameDay starting at 5 a.m.
Fans waited in line from the night before to be let into College GameDay starting at 5 a.m.
On Sept. 10, the unranked University of Texas football squad locked horns with the no. 1 ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide in an epic battle for college football supremacy and bragging rights.
Before the final cannon blast and thrilling 20-19 Alabama victory, four students from each university were given the unique experience to cover the behind-the-scenes journey of the colossal event. UT Austin Center for Sports Communication & Media Director Michael Butterworth and Alabama Program in Sports Communication Director Andrew C. Billings began discussing the possibility of collaboration between their respective athletic departments starting when the home-and-home series was first scheduled in 2018.
Shortly after, Fox Sports and ESPN came on board and reporters from local and national broadcast and print outlets donated their time and expertise to help the students understand how to cover major live sporting events. On Sept. 8, four Alabama students and two faculty advisors flew from Tuscaloosa to Austin to join forces with four UT Austin students to collaborate on game day stories. They decided upon two assignments: to cover a behind-the-scenes look at ESPN, and a profile piece on university super fans, told however they wanted: in print, photography, video, or a combination. Their stories can be found here.
Butterworth said it was a one-of-a-kind experience that would be hard to recreate since both universities hold football so sacred.
A record-setting sellout of 105,213 fans packed Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
A record-setting sellout of 105,213 fans packed Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
“I think they’ll always remember covering a game of this magnitude with the level of intensity, emotion and collaboration we had, all with a network of people they could rely on,” said Butterworth, a professor in UT Austin’s Department of Communication Studies. “It was most obvious this was special at dinner on Friday night when we could see these students were making lifetime friendships.”
Many fans reportedly stayed up overnight with the aid of energy drinks and school spirit.
Many fans reportedly stayed up overnight with the aid of energy drinks and school spirit.
The four UT students who participated represented different Moody College of Communication disciplines, including radio-television-film senior Manuel Duran; communication and leadership senior Jack Myer; journalism junior Emily Schumacher; and advertising senior Hayley Slotboom. The University of Alabama students are all seniors with public relations majors Skylar Lien and Jessica Stephans, and journalism and creative media majors Robert Cortez and Jason Williams.
Acting as a press corps, the eight students explored behind the scenes of the UT Austin Athletics facility, the UT Austin Hall of Fame and the sets of both Fox Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN GameDay. They conducted interviews with Fox Sports and ESPN staff, including GameDay host Rece Davis and analyst Desmond Howard. During the game, the group was allowed to visit the stadium press box with working journalists and officials, access the field after the game and attend a post-game press conference with Texas players and coaches, including UT Austin head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Texas senior Jack Myer—who doubles as a part-time photographer for the Austin American-Statesman—said he took photos around the stadium before, during and after the game using his press pass and published the photos on his portfolio site.
“My greatest takeaway was the value of teamwork. Each of the student journalists I worked with brought their unique skills and experiences to our team,” said Myer. “I was surprised by how fast it moves and how many people it takes to make it happen off-screen. In addition to the 22 on the field, there are thousands of people who have specialized tasks to ensure everything on game day goes according to plan.”
UT Austin junior Emily Schumacher said her greatest takeaway was realizing how much hard work goes into creating professional media content and the biggest highlight was meeting with College GameDay staff.
“I talked to Rece Davis this summer and at his press conference. I was able to stand on the set as GameDay was live,” said Schumaker. “I’m so thankful to Moody for providing opportunities like this for their students. This is something I’ll remember long after graduation.”
Butterworth concurred with Schumacher’s assessment of the extensive behind-the-scenes efforts.
“The scope of production is pretty overwhelming: all the cables, infrastructure and personnel to build it up and tear it down only to build it up again the next week some other place is very impressive,” said Butterworth.
“We had high hopes and it still exceeded our expectations.," he said. "The sheer spectacle of it is amazing and we look forward to visiting Tuscaloosa as the away team.”
Texas will play the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 9, 2023.
"To be honest, since I've been here these last three years, this is probably the loudest environment I've played in," said Will Anderson, outside linebacker for Alabama. "Probably the hardest game I've played in since I've been in college football. Their fans were super loud, they had a lot of energy. But the atmosphere was crazy."
Special Thanks
*Football Writers Association of America for free one-year memberships for all students
*America Football Association for free one-year memberships for all students
*Ken Capps, School of Journalism alumnus, Moody College Advisory Council member who provided contacts with Fox Sports and the FWAA
*Rob Mikulicka, Director of Remote Studio Operations, Fox Sports
*Stephanie Druley, SVP of Production at ESPN, School of Journalism alumna, Moody College Advisory Council member
*Drew Gallagher, Coordinating Producer, ESPN College GameDay
*Julie Mckay, College Sports Senior Publicist, ESPN College GameDay PR
*Rece Davis, Host, ESPN College GameDay
*Desmond Howard, Analyst, ESPN College GameDay
*Drew Martin, Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs, UT Austin for press credentials, football game tickets and on-field access after the game
*Kevin Robbins, Associate Director for Student Engagement for the Center for Sports Communication & Media
*Andrew C. Billings, Executive Director for the Alabama Program in Sports Communication
*Kenon A. Brown, Programming Director for the Alabama Program in Sports Communication
Literally behind-the-scenes of College GameDay.
Literally behind-the-scenes of College GameDay.
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