Shure Axient Wireless Delivers at College Football Playoff National Championship Game

by Jack Kontney, Contributor

On-field wireless is a critical factor for any live sports telecast, and the January 9, 2017, College Football Playoffs (CFP) Championship game on ESPN was no exception. Both the superb rendition of the national anthem by Little Big Town and the game ruling calls from referee Mike Defee were delivered flawlessly by Shure Axient wireless systems.

Shure Axient wireless systems were used for the referee’s mic and the national anthem performance at the CFP Championship game at Raymond James Stadium.

Handling on-field RF for the game was Randi Crooks of Magnum Audio Group, using the same Shure Axient systems he uses for NFL games at Raymond James Stadium. “I was hired through the Tampa Sports Authority for the CFP game since we’re so familiar with the stadium,” notes Crooks. “We’ve been using Axient there for over a year now, and it just never fails. This game was just higher profile and a lot more RF intensive.”

Located between the Tampa airport and a TV station, Raymond James Stadium is a challenging outdoor venue in the best of times. With over 1,100 wireless channels in use for the big game, extra backup frequencies were basically non-existent. According to Crooks, this made Axient’s superb RF selectivity and interference avoidance capability crucial elements to error-free wireless performance.

Clarity of penalty calls and rules explanations is critical for fans both in the stadium and watching the broadcast at home. For that critical role, Crooks used dual Shure AXT100 bodypacks on separate frequencies (Frequency Diversity). The audio from the two packs is linked, with the Axient system switching between them automatically as needed to ensure clean, clear audio. Throughout the game, every announcement by referee Mike Defee was delivered with easy intelligibility and no dropouts, regardless of his position on the field.

Little Big Town used Shure Axient wireless systems for the national anthem to kick off the Alabama-Clemson championship game. Photo: Reid Long

Similarly, Crooks used four Shure Axient handheld microphones for the national anthem, performed live by country stars Little Big Town. Axient handhelds, in Frequency Diversity Mode, offer the same dual-frequency reliability within a single AXT200 transmitter. The band’s preferred blend of KSM8, SM58, and Beta 87A capsules produced a beautiful sound that Crooks felt rivaled any anthem in three decades of engineering major sports events in the Tampa area.

Clemson’s stunning last-second victory over Alabama will go down in college football history, and Randi Crooks enjoys having played his role in bringing that experience to fans without any wireless glitches on the field.

“Shure Axient sounds great, and works in situations where nothing else does,” notes Crooks. “The performance you heard during the game speaks for itself. I’d hate to do an event like this without it.”