Producing College Sports for ESPN: A Vygotskian Approach

Abstract

In 2019 the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference signed an agreement with ESPN to stream men’s and women’s basketball games on its affiliated streaming service. In response, the Manhattan College Communication Department developed a Sports Media Production program to teach undergraduate students the basics of live sports production. The goal was for undergraduate students to participate in the production of forty games per year, including shooting, editing, generating replays, inserting graphics, and mixing five tracks of audio. Over the past three years approximately eighty students have taken part in these live productions, with audiences ranging from several hundred to ten thousand. This paper will explore the successes and challenges of developing a program of instruction out of a public/private partnership. Through the implementation of Vygotsky’s Scaffolding theory, students are immersed in both learning and teaching production from the moment each new season begins, while simultaneously exploring significant issues in Sport and Media Studies as part of the curriculum.