Live From NCAA Men’s Final Four: Behind the Scenes With Purdue, UConn, Alabama, and NC State Creative Teams

While CBS Sports and TNT Sports are focused on the NCAA Men’s Final Four and Championship Game broadcasts, an army of production teams from Purdue, UConn, Alabama, and North Carolina State are also on-site in Glendale, AZ, to tell the stories of their respective teams off the court. SVG sat down with leaders from all four schools’s creative teams to get an inside look at how they’re capturing the behind-the-scenes action during the biggest weekend in college basketball.

UConn’s Dave Kaplan, Tim Watson on Spreading Video Resources to Men’s and Women’s Teams

It’s a good time to be a Husky. The defending national champion men’s basketball team is back in the Final Four for the second straight year and the women’s basketball team returned to the Women’s Final Four for the third time in the last four year. How does an athletic department rally the troops to properly cover both teams?

In Glendale at the Men’s Final Four, we met with Dave Kaplan, Assistant Director of Athletics/Video Services and Tim Watson, Director of Men’s Basketball Creative Content of the University of Connecticut athletics department to discuss their strategy for tackling content production in both Arizona and Cleveland while also taking the time to reflect on some of the best content their team has produced this postseason.

Purdue’s Andrew Bay, ‘Don’t Be The Gap in the History Book’

While social engagement and giving Purdue men’s basketball fans and alumni unique access to the program’s first Final Four appearance in more than forty years is critical, it’s also crucial for videographers and the Boilermakers’ creative team to properly archive this historic postseason run.

At the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in Glendale, we spoke with Andrew Bay, Associate Director of Creative Services – Video for Purdue University Athletics to ask how his team is planning to properly capture and tell the story of this team, what advice he would give to other creatives, and why it’s important to lean into one’s strengths at this time of the season.

Alabama’s Aaron Hepp on Capitalizing on Access in Program’s First-Ever Final Four Appearance

The University of Alabama boasts one of the biggest, most successful athletic departments in the country. It’s men’s basketball team’s run to the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, though, is a special first for the program. Naturally, Crimson Tide fans and alumni are chomping at the bit to be a part of the action.

In Glendale at the Final Four, we caught up with Aaron Hepp, Director, Creative Content for the University of Alabama athletic department to get the skinny on how Crimson Tide Productions’ creative team has tackled this special postseason run, what content has found the most success for them, and how leveraging their unique access to the team is a major piece of the puzzle.

NC State’s Digital Crew Rides the ‘Survive and Advance’ Wave of Magical Tournament Run

In college basketball, the month of March is made for Cinderella. Typically, the clock strikes midnight on these programs, but in 2024, the dance is still going for No. 11 NC State. The Wolfpack have scratched and clawed their way to the grandest stage in the sport at the collegiate level, and after overcoming insurmountable obstacles to get to Phoenix, the team’s creative services department is hell bent on capturing their time in the limelight.

“The motto that we’ve had since the ACC tournament and into March Madness is capturing the moment,” says Ben Medland, assistant director, creative brand management, NC State University Men’s Basketball. “Fans have been waiting 37 years to win a conference championship and even longer to get to the Final Four, so we’re trying not to be too flashy.”