Ball State Sports Link announced its speaker lineup for its High School Sports Media Summit Feb. 18 on the campus of Ball State University.
Eighteen industry professionals, including 14 Sports Link alumni, will highlight a full day of programming at the Summit. ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report, NCAA March Madness, NCAA Broadcast Services, Indiana Pacers Sports & Entertainment, NASCAR, IndyCar, Indy Sports Corp, Notre Dame Fighting Irish Media and more will be represented.
Registration for the free event is now closed.
Who’s Speaking?
Allison Aycock, Bleacher Report/Turner Sports
Sports Link alum Allison Aycock is the Senior Manager of Technical Operations for Bleacher Report. She manages the platforms and productions that support creator content throughout the B/R app.
Chad Aycock, NCAA Digital and March Madness/Turner Sports
Chad Aycock is the Director of Brand Strategy for NCAA Digital and March Madness. He leads the year-round @MarchMadnessMBB social strategy and the social sales packaging for NCAA Digital.
Kyle Binder, Tupelo Honey Productions
Sports Link alum Kyle Binder is a Senior Producer at Tupelo Honey Productions. He produces live broadcasts for ESPN, Fox, CBS and others, including college football, basketball, lacrosse, rugby and more.
Michael Benzie, NCAA Digital and March Madness/Turner Sports
Michael Benzie is the Senior Director of content for NCAA Digital and March Madness. He runs the content teams that generate video, social media, live and written content.
Tyler Bradfield, BH x Creative
Sports Link alum Tyler Bradfield is a 4x Emmy Award winning producer specializing in story-driven content. His own production company serves over 40 clients nationwide, including teams in the NFL and SEC.
Nathan Bush, Notre Dame Fighting Irish Media
Sports Link alum Nathan Bush is a lead producer for Fighting Irish Digital Media. He oversees all of the live event productions broadcast on venue video boards, WatchND, NBC Sports and ESPN platforms.
Hudson French, Ball State/Arizona State
Sports Link alum Hudson French is a feature/sideline reporter and studio host. He recently graduated with his Master’s from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, where he covered men’s basketball.
Zach Hughes, Indiana Fever/Pacers Sports & Entertainment
Sports Link alum Zach Hughes is the Senior Director of Social Content at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, overseeing all content from the Pacers, Fever and Mad Ants.
Alex Kartman, Director of Sports Production & Associate Lecturer Ball State
Sports Link alum Alex Kartman is an award-winning storyteller and producer, specializing in video production and live event production. In 2015, he was promoted to Director of Sports Production (Ball State Sports Link) as the program continues to grow.
Sarah Myer, Indiana Sports Corp
Sarah Myer is the Chief of Staff & Strategy for the Indy Sports Corp. She provides guidance and leadership in fulfilling its mission of impacting the community through sports.
JC Obringer, ESPN
Sports Link alum JC Obringer is an Associate Director at ESPN, where he plays a key role in live productions and studio shows. His work includes the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLB and NCAA
Connor Onion, Play-By-Play Broadcaster
Sports Link alum Connor Onion is a play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports and the Big Ten Network. He calls MLB, College Football, Basketball and Volleyball.
Noah Reed, Play-By-Play Broadcaster
Sports Link alum Noah Reed is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN, FOX Sports, and NBC Sports. He calls college football, basketball, softball, baseball, and volleyball for the three networks.
Natalie Steger, NCAA Broadcast Services
Ball State alum Natalie Steger is the Associate Director of Broadcast Services for the NCAA. She manages the ESPN partnership and its Championships broadcasts.
Chris Taylor, Senior Director of Sports Production & Associate Lecturer Ball State
A creative storyteller and producer with over 30 years of experience, Chris Taylor is the Senior Director of Sports Production (Ball State Sports Link) and an Associate Lecturer of Media at Ball State.
Mick Tidrow, Director of Broadcasting and Digital Brand Strategy Ball State
Sports Link alum Mick Tidrow serves as the radio play-by-play voice for all Ball State football and men’s basketball games, in addition to calling most ESPN+ broadcasts. As director of digital brand strategy, he oversees content and branding among Ball State’s social media platforms.
Al Szymanski, Assistant Director of Sports Production & Assistant Lecturer Ball State
Al Szymanski is a producer, director and writer for multiple networks (NBC Sports, CBS Sports, ABC Sports, ESPN, NFL Network, A&E, History, Bravo, MSNBC, Discovery, Travel, Food) and production companies (Disney, Film45, Endeavor, IMG, WWE).
Dillon Welch, Play-By-Play & Pit Reporter
Sports Link Alum Dillon Welch is a pit reporter and booth announcer for NASCAR, Indy Car and IMSA. His works spans multiple networks, including NBC Sports.
About The Summit
This historic summit provides learning and professional development opportunities in sports media production, learning from current industry and media professionals in a day of sessions, panels and workshops.
Opportunities will focus on Sports Link’s main core principles of education and innovation — Storytelling, Live Event Production, Content Creation and On-Air Talent development.
Sports Link is ranked No.2 in the nation by the Broadcast Education Association for top sports media schools and is the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters Sports Media School of the Year.