Scatterday’s special topics class students run the broadcast control room during the WVU Men’s Lacrosse game against the University of North Carolina on April 18. (Photo credit: Jeremy Meadows)
A new course for Sports and Adventure Media (SAM) students in the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications puts them on the sidelines and in the control room to produce a live sports broadcast from start to finish.
Students in Teaching Assistant Professor Chuck Scatterday’s special topics class ran the live broadcast for the WVU Men’s Lacrosse match against the University of North Carolina on April 18.
Nearly five years ago, Emily Corio, a Journalism professor who now serves as the Director of the Reed School, began brainstorming this idea with Scatterday and Joe Webb, WVU’s Director of Mixed Media Productions who has long served as tech support for the “WVU News” and “Mountaineer Playbook” student broadcast programs. These discussions led to the development of a live production class where students engage in content creation, develop storylines and operational plans, and fill all the broadcast positions of a live sports event, including producer, director, audio mixer, technical director, replay operator, graphics coordinator, bug operator, camera person, stage manager, announcer and sideline reporter.
The live sports broadcast special topics course launched for the spring 2026 semester. After several months of classroom learning, meeting with industry professionals and a trip to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh to shadow the videoboard team during a live event, students got to work on their own live broadcast.
Twenty-one SAM students manned the headsets, cameras and mics as lacrosse players battled for the win.
James Bickom, a senior Sports and Adventure Media major, takes on the role of producer for the live broadcast. (Photo credit: Jeremy Meadows)
Senior James Bickom produced the broadcast, which included building out storylines and graphics ahead of the game and creating replay elements that could be incorporated into the live coverage.
SAM students frequently work on live game coverage either for “Mountaineer Playbook” or as interns with ESPN and WVU Athletics, but in those scenarios, the basic infrastructure for the broadcast is already in place. This time, Bickom and his peers had to use what they learned in Scatterday’s course to design all the elements, know when to use them and build the broadcast from scratch. “My favorite part was the feeling I got when the announcers made a good point about a graphic that was put in the game, or during a replay. This is when I truly saw everything I worked for ahead of the game start to piece together, and it was something I am not going to forget anytime soon,” said Bickom.
Junior Jordan Peters made her directorial debut, coordinating the production, calling the camera shots and working with the crew to capture key moments. She controlled what the audience saw in real time, switching between camera angles and cueing replays and graphics.
“I was already familiar with live production from working with ESPN as a camera operator, but I hadn’t directed before,” said Peters. “I always thought I preferred being out on the field as a camera operator, but I ended up really liking being in the truck and running the show. Being in this class gave me the confidence to step into a new role.”
Jordan Peters, a junior Sports and Adventure Media major, makes her directorial debut during the Journalism 493 class’s live broadcast. (Photo credit: Jeremy Meadows)
As with any live production, the student broadcasters faced a few challenges and had to adapt on the fly.
The game started 10 minutes ahead of schedule, and Bickom had to improvise. They jumped straight from a commercial break into the game, so instead of the planned opening, he had to show the team lineups he’d created during play stoppages.
It also rained during the game, making conditions tough for the camera operators and sideline reporter, and a mic issue forced the team to adapt in real time.
“Most of us were learning our roles as we went, but we worked together to create the graphics and decide which stories to tell. It was a true team effort, and everyone played a part, which made the experience really rewarding,” Peters said.
Professor Scatterday (front row, center), senior SAM major Nakia Bracy (left of Scatterday) and the “Remote Team” at the WVU Rec Fields. (Photo credit: Jeremy Meadows)
Nakia Bracy, a senior SAM major and Sports Communications minor, was the game’s color commentator. While she wanted an on-camera role for this broadcast, Bracy said the special topics class has been an incredible asset for students who are interested in broadcasting but don’t want to be in front of the camera.
“Professor Scatterday did a phenomenal job making us feel supported, and his experience in the field is invaluable,” she said.
Scatterday was proud of his students and what they accomplished.
“This class and event coverage from beginning to end was very rewarding on so many levels,” said Scatterday. “The students overwhelmingly exceeded my expectations and presented a fairly clean show that was entertaining and engaging.”
Learn more about the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications at mediaandcommunications.wvu.edu and follow @wvureedschool on social media.