SVG Students To Watch: Sam Newitt, Kansas State University

The South Dakota native thrives in many roles behind the scenes at K-StateHD.TV

In the live–sports-video industry, the future is bright. Our new series, SVG Students To Watch, highlights the next generation of live–sports-production professionals. Across campuses nationwide, students are playing a pivotal role in bringing their schools’ games to fans — from running cameras and graphics to sitting in the producer’s or director’s chair and everything in between. This series shines a light on the young talent making an impact today and preparing to shape the future of sports-video production.

Sam Newitt

College: Kansas State University
Academic Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD
Roles: Director, TD, Graphics, Camera, Talent Stats

What drew you to live sports production, and how did you get started?
My dad did color commentary for some of the local college basketball games in South Dakota. Watching him on the TV when I was very young was certainly very inspiring and made me want to follow in his footsteps. When I got older, he started taking me to the games with him so I could help him keep track of stats and players (i.e., talent stats). Having the opportunity to work in this role and talking with the other crew members made me realize I enjoyed working behind the scenes. I started expanding to other roles, like graphics and camera for local college games and directing for high school broadcasts. Getting that foundation early on definitely prepared me for working with K-State HDTV once I moved to Manhattan [KS], and I’m very grateful that my father gave me an opportunity to be involved at such a young age.

Newitt, a sophomore, sits in the director’s chair during a live Kansas State Women’s Soccer game broadcast on the school’s streaming platform, K-StateHD.TV. (Photos: K-State Athletics)

Are there any “aha moments” when you realized you really loved a particular role?
One event that definitely comes to mind was the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls in November 2021. That was my first time doing graphics for a college basketball broadcast. I really enjoyed it and found myself getting more comfortable and more keyed in from game to game within the event. Graphics was a great way to combine stats with the fast-paced environment of live production. I remember going up to my boss and telling him he could put me on as many graphics games as he needed after that.

Newitt fills many roles, including as a camera operator for an onsite studio show.

What has been your favorite project or game that you’ve worked on, and why?
I enjoyed getting to run the scorebug for our production of the KU vs K-State basketball game last year. Getting to work on an upper-tier linear show was an incredible experience, though nerve-wracking at times. The show went quite well, and I was able to add a lot of good graphics/bug pops. It was also great to see how the outside director, producer, etc. went about their roles, and watching how they operated definitely gave me some pointers for my own directing later in the year.

What’s the most challenging aspect of working in live sports production as a student?
Balancing the schedule of games with classes/homework has certainly been a challenging aspect, especially once November hits and more sports are going on at once. It has made me think about planning to make sure I have everything done for classes and prepared for the broadcasts.

What are your career aspirations after graduation?
I’m majoring in computer science, so I’m looking at going into software engineering long-term, but I definitely want to stay involved with sports broadcasting in some form as well. Working with a local production contractor would be a great way to continue learning more about broadcast engineering while getting to be a part of fun shows. There’s some crossover between software engineering and broadcast production, too; working for a company like Ross Video on the software-development side would be a great way to combine my two interests.

Newitt served as a spotter and statistician for his father, Brad Newitt, who was an on-air broadcaster for Midco Sports’ live coverage of the Summit League Men’s Basketball Tournament in March. (Photo: Christian Begeman, Midco Sports)

What advice would you give to your freshman self?
Make sure you’re always keeping your eyes and ears open to what’s going on around you. If you’re looking to be assigned more-complex roles, the best way to prepare yourself is to observe how other people are approaching their various roles. Also, make sure to ask questions so you understand how something works, not just how to use it. Part of being a skilled operator is knowing how to troubleshoot when things are going wrong, and that starts with understanding what’s going on under the hood — whether it’s TD, graphics, or camera.

If you run video production at a college athletic department and would like to recommend a standout student from your crew to be featured in SVG Students To Watch, please email SVG Director of Digital Brandon Costa at brandon@sportsvideo.org.