Written By: Chris Taylor | @BallStateCT
Senior Director of Digital Sports Production &
Lecturer of Telecommunications
Ball State Sports Link welcomed five-time Emmy-award winning Olympic gymnastics producer for NBC Sports Allison Melangton to campus Jan. 18.
Melangton’s visit marked the start of preparation for the first of three Sports Link productions of gymnastics on ESPN 3 in 2016.
“The opportunity you have now, at Ball State, to do a full gymnastics production is amazing,” Melangton said. “You can ask anyone who works in sports production.
“It’s one of the hardest sports to cover live. I’m not saying this to scare you, but to let you know what a unique opportunity you have.”
Melangton shared her insight on producing gymnastics at the highest level.
She has been the Associate Producer for the gymnastics broadcast by NBC Sports for the last five of eight Olympic games.
Melangton has received five Emmy Awards for her work including the 2012 summer games in London. She will produce her ninth Olympics this summer in Rio.
During her second visit to Ball State Sports Link, Melangton shared the Top 10 gymnastics production tips with students, just as she and NBC Sports producer/director David Michaels do with their NBC Sports crews.
She guided the students in overall event coverage and NBC Sports philosophy of each event.
Following the overall session with digital sports production students, Melangton then met with the executive production team and talent.
A “Living Legend”
As the president of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee, Melangton led what is widely regarded as the most successfully organized Super Bowl in the NFL’s history and one that changed the way the NFL approaches fan involvement. It drew more than 1 million people to downtown Indianapolis, attracted more than 8,000 volunteers, and led to a $154 million investment in the city’s Near Eastside through the Legacy Project.
Melangton currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Events for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She is responsible for overall production of major events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including those during the Month of May, the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400, and Verizon IndyCar Series.
Melangton was honored with a “Sagamore of the Wabash” by Indiana Governor and Hulman & Co. board member Mitch Daniels in 2012, and recognized as a “Living Legend” by the Indiana Historical Society in 2014. Sports Business Journal, the nation’s industry-leading publication, named Melangton as a recipient of its “Game Changer” Award in 2012.
Sports Link on ESPN 3
The first Ball State Sports Link broadcast is Sunday as the Cardinals welcome Eastern Michigan and Illinois State to Worthen Arena for a 1 p.m. tilt on ESPN 3.
Senior Aaron Hepp is the executive producer, while junior J.C. Obringer will direct.
Senior Tyler Bradfield, who ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 2015 Jim Nantz Award for outstanding collegiate broadcaster, will handle the play-by-play.
Bradfield will be joined by former Ball State gymnast Brooklyn Schumacher and digital sports production freshman Morgan Landes.
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans that receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
