What’s it take to work at the Super Bowl?
With Super Bowl fever ramping up, sports fans wonder – how hard is it to be a game commentator? You just sit around and talk about the plays with your buddies, right? Wrong. Three sports communications experts explain how earning a master’s degree gives you the skills you need to call the next big game.
We asked Emmy winner Brian Thorne and Marconi Award winner Paul Pabst, full-time faculty in Sacred Heart University’s Master of Arts in Sports Communication & Media (SCM) program, and the program director, Dr. Andrew Miller, why completing a graduate degree will give you both expertise and a leg up in this competitive industry. Pabst, who has covered about 22 Super Bowls, will be executive producer for The Dan Patrick Show during the game and the weeklong walk up to Sunday, while Thorne is a veteran of 10 Super Bowl broadcasts.
Miller and his team recently announced that eight SHU alumni won 2023 Emmy Awards for their work in sports broadcasting, a testament to the University’s ability to transform students’ passion for the playing field into rewarding careers.
You’ll be a Jack–or Jill–of all trades.
Succeeding in sports communication or broadcasting is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And if you can do your own job and pinch hit for members of your team, you’ll be rewarded, Thorne said.
“Someone’s out sick and they say, ‘Who knows how to operate this machine?’” he said. “The best ability is availability.”
In Sacred Heart University’s Sports Communication & Media (SCM) program, you’ll learn the skills you’ll need to be in front of or behind the camera. The curriculum is a combination of:
- Television studio production
- Live-event broadcasting
- Single camera production
- Advanced Editing
- Sports media history and theory
- Hands-on practicum and internship experiences
You’ll get your ‘reps’—way ahead of the competition.
In sports media, you’re often judged worthy of a job based on the number of times you’ve done it—your “reps.” Those snagging a sports communication or media job with a bachelor’s degree often have to prove their worth by gaining their ‘reps,’ moving up the ladder from production assistant to the job they’ve coveted from the start.
In a master’s program, you’ll log reps on real-world broadcasts, each providing another example of your expertise. You will be able to apply for higher-level positions earlier, moving up quicker than your counterparts.
You’ll have a ready-made network for internships and job interviews.
In sports broadcasting, who you know can be key to getting your foot in the door when a job opportunity arises. A graduate program often provides a feeder system, where graduates who’ve gone before can recommend you for internships and entry-level positions in the industry.
SHU SCM students are lucky to be taught by Miller, who has served as assistant director on film and television hits, such as Of Mice and Men and Beverly Hills 90210, as well as working professionals Thorne and Pabst. Many SHU graduates are active in the field, providing inroads throughout the country.
Prime location in the New York-Boston corridor gives SHU grad students extensive networking, recruiting and internship possibilities with ESPN, NBC Sports, MLB/NHL Networks and WWE, to name a few leading nearby companies. In fact, three of the SCM graduate program’s alumni will be working on site at this year’s Super Bowl and Thorne said he often runs into SHU grads at top broadcasts.
You’ll make your demo reel in professional facilities with high-quality equipment.
As a graduate student in sports communications, media or broadcasting, much of your time should be spent building a demo reel—a short professional video that showcases your versatility, charisma and experience to potential employers. It’s important to look for programs that give graduate students access to the equipment and studios that will make your work shine.
At SHU, students learn and work with world-class equipment, software, production studios and labs on actual broadcasts, including live Division I games. Internships bring them all over the globe to cover some of the world’s best sporting events, Miller said.
You’ll prepare for a variety of sports-related careers.
Sure, the ability to dish about a player’s skills or spout off team history stats might make you the conversation king over tacos and wings, but there’s a lot more that goes into an actual career in sports media. Pabst likened working on a broadcast to staffing the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant. “If you do the job right, no one notices you,” he said. “I love what I do, and I get paid to do what I love. But there’s a lot more that goes into it.”
SHU’s SCM program offers two tracks. The sports broadcasting program trains students through in-class exercises and outside field production work and internships with top companies, such as ESPN, NBC Sports and The Dan Patrick Show. Students produce content as both on-air talent and behind-the-scenes producers, as well as working on the weekly “Sports Buzz” show and covering SHU’s Division I football and basketball teams, often for SNY Sports Network.
In the athletic communications & promotions track, students gain extensive multimedia training in graphics production, including event work on the annual Women in Sports Media symposium. Featured symposium panelists have included Jemele Hill (The Atlantic), Linda Cohn (ESPN), Jennifer Lada (ESPN), Renie Anderson (NFL) and Cara Banks (NBC Golf). Practice and internships help showcase production skills and critical thinking, as they produce a solid portfolio of written work and multimedia content.
A dual degree program allows incoming freshmen to be admitted directly to the SCM program at the same time they are admitted as an undergrad, providing them a guaranteed space in the master’s program if they meet certain criteria.
Think the Sports Communication & Media graduate program at Sacred Heart University might be for you?
Curious about earning your master’s degree in Sports Communication & Media? Talk to Ed Nassr, associate director of graduate admissions & recruitment, at nassre@sacredheart.edu or schedule a virtual appointment today!
Photo (from left to right): Mario Miranda, BA '15, MA '17, Raymond Niver, MA '21, Paul Pabst, SHU Full-Time Faculty Member, Robert Heineman, MA '19 at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
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