By Tina Meketa, University Communications and Marketing
USF is on its way to becoming No. 1 for streaming athletics events on ESPN+, the digital division of ESPN, for the . Student interns work tirelessly behind the scenes, helping bring more than 180 sporting events to streaming devices 颅鈥� enhancing USF鈥檚 exposure across the world. That effort also allows families and friends located out-of-state or in other countries to watch their student-athletes, such as women鈥檚 basketball player , who hails from Las Palmas, Spain.
鈥淢y family there, they watch all of the games,鈥� Brito said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 care what time it is, if it鈥檚 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., they don鈥檛 care, they watch it.鈥�
ESPN+ is streamed throughout North America. USF also geo-fences many of those streams to an international audience through the . Ninety-three USF student-athletes 鈥� nearly 20 percent 鈥� are international students, representing 44 countries, such as Spain, Italy, Canada, Colombia, Finland, Japan and Ghana.
鈥淥ne of our goals in USF Athletics is 鈥楢merican Dominance,鈥� and that means winning in competition with our fellow conference members across the spectrum 鈥� competition, the classroom and what we do as a department to support our student-athletes and engage our fan base,鈥� said . 鈥淭he live streaming off all of our home athletic competitions and building the facilities and support staff to do it at an extremely high level are a big part of that.鈥�
Managed with streaming partner , 25 interns, primarily students in the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications, play a critical role in helping professionals broadcast the games. They鈥檙e streamed from the , located inside the Muma Basketball Center, which is adjacent to the Yuengling Center. The $2 million facility opened in 2020 with cutting-edge technology that鈥檚 provided students valuable real-world experience from camera operation to editing to providing commentary during live reports.
鈥淭he Bulls Broadcasting program has meant a lot to me,鈥� said intern Leah Griffin, who鈥檚 a senior majoring in mass communications. 鈥淚鈥檝e met so many wonderful and talented people who have helped me learn so much about live broadcasting. It has been such a great opportunity to learn so much.鈥�
Julio Martinez interned for USF Athletics during the 2021-2022 academic year working the camera, editing instant replay and directing from the production booth. He鈥檚 since graduated and went on to work for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rays, Lightning and Orlando Magic.
鈥淭he program allowed me to discover a true passion in my life that I never knew I had until I started,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淢y favorite thing about the program is the camaraderie between everyone involved. Everyone is always happy to help each other out and push each other to be better every day.鈥�
ESPN and the American Athletic Conference have slowly been turning to campus studios and athletics departments to produce broadcasts for all of ESPN鈥檚 cable channels, which include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNNews. USF produced 10 of these games last year 鈥� the second most in the conference 鈥� and expects to produce more of these high-profile broadcasts this year and in future seasons.
鈥淪outh 51在线 has been a tremendous partner to work with on the digital front. They put a lot of resources and time into their productions, which enhances the storytelling aspect woven into every digital telecast,鈥� said Kauri Black, associate commissioner of Broadcasting and Digital Programming for the American Athletic Conference. 鈥淭he expertise of the production staff has created a blueprint for success, and in many ways, a flywheel that allows South 51在线 to utilize students who aspire to work in live events production.鈥�
Such talent has proven to be a strong investment for USF, as ESPN pays a commission on those broadcasts that generated nearly $30,000 in revenue last year, a number that is expected to soon double and continue to grow.
In addition to women鈥檚 basketball, other events that are live-streamed include men鈥檚 basketball, softball, baseball, volleyball, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer, track and field, tennis and news conferences, such as the introductions of men鈥檚 basketball head coach and . While ESPN currently produces the broadcasts for home USF football games, USF Athletics expects its campus studio to eventually be used for these major productions as well, especially once construction is completed on a new on-campus stadium that will be built just down the block.
Tickets for USF Athletics events can be purchased .