Ball State University, and its Digital Sports Production track, was ranked No. 3 in the nation among the Top 5 sports broadcasting schools in the country, according to the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.
According to STAA’s Jon Chelesnik, Ball State “has burst onto the scene over the past four years and is getting stronger every year . . . Another great school for both radio and TV sportscasting.”
STAA’s ranking for the nation’s top sports broadcasting schools for 2017 includes in order: Syracuse, Arizona State, Ball State, Missouri and Indiana.
The Top 5 colleges for sports broadcasting are strong in at least five of the following seven areas:
Quality of students’ work
The best schools turn out the most students who are best prepared for the job market.- Internal competition
Instead of being given on-air reps, students compete to earn them. - External competition
A university with pride in its sports broadcasting program should encourage students to apply for national recognition like STAA’s All-America program. Competitive spirit. It makes you better. - Peer support
Students helping, supporting, and genuinely caring about each other. - Teaching employable skills
Things like play-by-play, sports anchor and reporting and digital media are employable skills. “Hot take” TV opinion programs are a waste of time. Positions on those shows go to established journalists, not recent grads. - Alumni support
Receiving assistance from alumni who are working in the industry is a huge edge. - Sustained excellence
Schools that consistently put graduates into the work force prove they are keeping up with the rapid changes in our industry.
Ball State’s Department of Telecommunications created a new Digital Sports Production concentration in the existing Digital Production option, joining Digital Audio, Digital Video and Emerging Media.
The concentration also has partnership with the School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science through courses in Sport Administration. It also includes courses from the joint Journalism/TCOM News Track.
Digital Sports Production offers skills and applications using digital technology to create sports content for distribution across multiple platforms. Emphasis is given to live event production to ESPN platforms and storytelling.
Digital Sports Production prepares students for careers in a developing and changing sports media arena. Using the immersive learning model of Ball State Sports Link, Digital Sports Production specializes in multiple areas.
Students learn to produce a broad range of content from live remote productions, live-to-tape events, television programs, student-athlete features, Facebook Live shows and social media content creation.
Other facets of the program include Sports Link Radio on WCRD 91.3 FM, social media management and analytics, podcasts and the use of mobile technology and interactivity via the web.
