Lesson Plan: How Big Ten Network’s StudentU Produces Broadcast Pros — and 2,000+ Live Games a Year

BTN supports 18 campuses with student training and feedback, as well as professional tools

On any given weeknight across the Big Ten Conference, hundreds of students are calling replays, switching cameras, and directing live game coverage — all under the banner of Big Ten Network’s StudentU program. From wrestling in Piscataway to volleyball in L.A., StudentU productions fill the network’s B1G+ streaming service with more than 2,000 live events each year, showcasing the next generation of sports-television talent in real time.

Big Ten Network’s StudentU program puts university students in key positions for live production of sports events for streaming service B1G+. Here, University of Oregon students produce a basketball game from the school’s on-campus control room. (Photos: Big Ten Network).

Behind every one of those broadcasts is a carefully coordinated partnership between BTN’s Chicago- and Los Angeles–based StudentU team and the production staffs embedded on each of the conference’s 18 campuses. Together, they are building one of the largest and most successful student-driven production networks in the country — a system designed to educate, empower, and elevate young professionals preparing for careers in live sports television.

“It’s wild to think about how far this program has come,” says Rob Coons, senior director, StudentU, Big Ten Network. “The students have always been the hallmark of this initiative, and, today, the quality of their work is incredible. We’re seeing college kids produce broadcasts that look truly professional.”

From Flypacks to Full-Fledged Control Rooms

When BTN launched in 2007, its founders quickly realized that they owned far more live-event rights than could ever fit on a single linear channel. Streaming was still in its infancy, but the conference saw an opportunity to develop the next generation of broadcast professionals while making thousands more events available for fans. The idea was simple: ship a portable flypack to a school, have a handful of students produce a few games, then send it to the next campus.

That experiment became the seed for StudentU, which has evolved over 17 years from a proof-of-concept to a fully integrated educational production ecosystem. Every Big Ten university now has a StudentU operation producing live sports coverage, training future media professionals, and feeding the ever expanding appetite for live content on B1G+.

A student at the University of Washington shoots a volleyball match during a live production streamed to B1G+.

Before joining BTN, Coons spent more than a decade at Northwestern University, where he helped launch the school’s athletics video department. “We realized early that there were incredibly talented students on these campuses — kids who might not even know sports broadcasting was a career path,” he says. “Once they got a taste of it, they were hooked.”

BTN now has a dedicated StudentU staff of eight — Production Managers Ethan Cardoza and Lauren Day, Technical Operations Manager Kevin Kantorski, Talent Manager Jesse Kass, Graphics Manager Casey Woodman, and Coordinators Mariesha Gibson and Heather Hagedorn — working alongside Coons from Chicago and Los Angeles. Together, they collaborate closely with athletic-department personnel who manage the programs day to day on campus.

Building Skills, Confidence, Consistency

BTN’s StudentU team supports campus crews in three major ways: equipment investment, training resources, and live-game support.

“We work with every school individually,” Coons explains. “Each campus has different control-room setups, and we try to meet them where they are. It doesn’t make sense to mandate identical gear if it conflicts with what they’ve already built or taught.”

On the training front, BTN provides a wealth of written guides and video tutorials that cover everything from camera basics to advanced producing and directing. The network also hosts seminars featuring professionals from BTN’s linear productions and on-air talent to connect students directly with working industry pros.

The Big Ten Network staff supports all StudentU productions from the network’s Chicago and L.A. offices. Here, BTN staffers work in the command center at the Chicago facility.

Perhaps the most impressive layer of support happens on game day. For every one of the 2,034 live StudentU broadcasts last school year, BTN staff in Chicago monitored productions remotely, answering technical questions via intercom and providing detailed postgame evaluations.

“After every show, we send written feedback — usually four or five pages — breaking down what worked well and what can improve,” Coons says. “We know campus staffs are stretched thin. If we can help students learn from each event, that’s an important part of the educational process.”

Raising the Bar on Production Quality

Over the past five years, BTN has prioritized visual consistency across B1G+ streams, beginning with a unified graphics look. Under Woodman’s direction, BTN’s StudentU group reimagined the network’s linear-graphics package for the student environment, using Ross Video’s XPression platform.

“Having every school’s show look the same, with clean, professional graphics, goes a long way toward making B1G+ feel like a cohesive product,” says Coons. “It’s one of those details that audiences might not consciously notice, but it absolutely raises the perception of quality.”

The same philosophy drove BTN’s recent camera investment: more than 20 Sony HXC-FZ90 studio cameras now in use across the conference. “The FZ90 struck the right balance of performance and value,” he explains. “Its 4K sensor and digital zoom give us box-lens–level reach without the cost or bulk. For students, that’s huge: it’s broadcast quality in a package that’s practical and forgiving for a learning environment.”

Purdue students get a shoutout on-air after a live broadcast at the conclusion of last season.

With stronger low-light performance and a flexible form factor, the Sony cameras have become cornerstones of StudentU productions, improving both the educational experience and the on-screen product. Notes Coons, “Fans watching Olympic sports on B1G+ see sharper, more dynamic coverage than ever before.”

The Modern Student Producer

If early StudentU broadcasts were about proving that students could produce live sports coverage, today’s challenge is keeping up with how capable they’ve become.

“The skill level has grown leaps and bounds,” Coons says. “A lot of these kids are coming in having already done live production in high school. Ten years ago, you’d bring a student into a control room, and they’d be wide-eyed. Now they walk in and immediately want to know what format you’re running and where the replay is.”

Several universities offer academic credit tied directly to StudentU productions, and BTN frequently sees students transition from campus productions into professional roles at networks and schools around the country. “It’s rewarding to see them thrive,” he says. “We’ve got alumni of this program working everywhere — BTN, FOX, ESPN— and it all started with a student show on a Big Ten campus.”

When Working With Students, Invest the Time

Meanwhile, Coons has spent more than a decade of his career supporting students in live-production environments. The reality is that much of collegiate sports coverage at every level wouldn’t be possible without students filling critical crew roles, making it increasingly important for athletic departments to learn how to integrate them effectively.

For industry professionals managing student crews, Coons offers two key pieces of advice: “First, invest the time. The more you can work with students outside the chaos of game day — explaining concepts, reviewing footage, walking through problems — the better they’ll perform when it counts.”

Students have an opportunity to work on-camera positions during Big Ten Network StudentU broadcasts.

Second, he emphasizes listening. “Students today come in with fresh perspectives and sometimes real experience. They might see a better way to do something that we’ve been doing the same way for 20 years. If you’re open to that, you’ll make the product — and the people — better.”

A True Partnership Across the Conference

Coons is quick to credit the dozens of campus staffers who make StudentU possible every week. The nature of the Big Ten Network’s joint-venture setup, where education is a core priority of the business, has allowed the partnership to flourish.

“The StudentU program doesn’t function without the incredibly dedicated people on each of our campuses,” he points out. “They’re the ones in the trenches — training students, solving problems 20 minutes before air, and making sure every show happens. We view them as true partners in this mission.”

From its early flypack days to its current 18-school footprint, StudentU has grown into a defining part of the Big Ten Network’s identity: a training ground for the next generation of sports-production talent and a showcase for what collaboration between education and industry can achieve.