SVG Campus Shot Callers: Mike Szlamowicz, Assistant Athletics Director, Sport and Broadcast Production, University of Virginia

The UVA alum has built one of the ACC’s most prolific in-house production operations

The pool of production and operations talent in sports media runs much deeper than the national networks. SVG Campus Shot Callers spotlights the behind-the-scenes leaders powering the massive wave of college sports productions available to fans today. Across athletic departments nationwide, these administrators manage teams, oversee technology investment, mentor students, and ensure that hundreds of live broadcasts make it to air each year. This series highlights their journeys, philosophies, and the vital role they play in shaping live sports coverage.

Few collegiate video departments can match the scope — or longevity — of Hoo Vision, the production arm of University of Virginia Athletics. Each year, the operation produces more than 160 live broadcasts across ESPN’s linear and digital platforms while also delivering videoboard shows for 15 sports in nine venues across campus. From football Saturdays at Scott Stadium to ACC Network broadcasts from Olympic-sport venues, the Cavaliers’ live-production team remains one of the most active and technically sophisticated in the ACC.

At the center of it all is Mike Szlamowicz, assistant athletics director, sport and broadcast production, University of Virginia, now in his 16th year leading and evolving the program he once joined as a student intern. Overseeing a full-time staff of six employees and dozens of freelancers and students, Szlamowicz — or, as you are more likely to hear him called, “Slammer” — manages an operation that balances creativity, technical innovation, and education whether producing national telecasts for ESPN and ACC Network or supporting on-campus events and podcasts. Under his leadership, UVA has embraced forward-thinking workflows, including cloud-based replay systems that enhance both officiating and production efficiency.

In this edition of SVG Campus Shot Callers, Szlamowicz reflects on his journey from student worker to department head, the value of continuity and balance in live sports production, and how empowering people more than technology is at the core of every successful show.

Szlamowicz coaches Hoo Vision student members during a men’s lacrosse broadcast last spring. (Photo: University of Virginia Athletics)

What are the key responsibilities of your current role?
I serve on our department’s external leadership team and as interface between our unit and the various internal and external constituencies we work with, including our partners at ESPN and our teams, coaches, and administrators. In that role, I’m setting the show levels and production plans for all our various responsibilities, managing our budget, and optimizing our revenue opportunities and coverage of our teams. I’m also tasked with keeping an eye on the renewal and replacement of our physical infrastructure from control rooms to video displays. And I still get to sit in the chair and do my fair share of games, often directing broadcasts or producing a big-screen show but also broadcast producing, tech directing, running audio, engineering, or whatever else the crew needs on that day.

What is one core philosophy you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
Tech is great, but it’s the people that make this possible. We have rewarding jobs that can also be stressful, overwhelming and, if you aren’t careful, all-consuming. Giving people the space and time to find a balance between this work and their lives is crucial. We’ve had a great deal of continuity here, which is how we are able to execute the volume of work that we produce. I also believe in giving people opportunities to grow and develop into roles they are striving toward, whether that’s full-time staff, freelancers, or students. You will be surprised with the value you can get just by giving someone a chance who is passionate about it.

Szlamowicz at the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in Minneapolis with Ryan Mahanes (left), who is now assistant athletics director, creative services and digital strategy, University of Virginia Athletics

What is one key technology investment that your department has made that you feel has greatly improved your productions, workflows, or how your team operates?
We’re slowly but surely offshoring Olympic-sports officials’ replay onto cloud workflows and augmenting broadcast angles with fixed POV or PTZ cameras to assist with calls. It has the twofold benefit of enhancing and standardizing the replay coverage for the officials while also taking replay execution off our control room and allowing us to focus on our audience.

How did you get started in sports production? What made you want to pursue this career?
I’ve always loved sports, and I’ve always loved shooting and editing. I thought it was fun back in high school to do NFL Films–style recaps of backyard football games with my friends. When I was a student at UVA and realized you could intern with the sports-video department, I thought it was the most obvious fit for an internship that I could have imagined, and that’s how I got my start. The thing that I appreciate about this job is that every day is different and a problem-solving mentality is (almost) always rewarded.

Szlamowicz shoots the action during the UVA game against Texas Tech at the 2019 Final Four in Minneapolis. The Cavaliers would go on to win the National Championship. (Photo: University of Virginia Athletics)

What is your favorite event(s) you’ve ever worked?
I’ll go with a three-parter. Getting to work the Final Four when UVA went was a true bucket-list moment and probably a moment of pure sports emotion that will never be topped. I don’t get too wrapped up in the results of the games after so many years, but that was a special team and an amazing journey.

Likewise, producing the videoboard show at Scott Stadium when UVA finally snapped the streak against Virginia Tech in football in 2019 was a similarly rewarding moment: it felt like everything that the production crew was doing was funneling into the energy and emotion on the sideline and in the stands.

From a broadcast standpoint, we’ve been lucky to do a lot of fun events, but one that sticks out that might be a little off the wall was getting to produce the 2023 ACC Field Hockey Championships on ACC Network. We were trusted to do the entire tournament in-house, and we took the opportunity to have some fun and get creative with tech to augment the production. It’s always cool to get to produce a championship event that will live in memory forever for the athletes, families, and fans.

Szlamowicz speaks on a panel on facing the challenges of “crossover season” at the 2025 SVG College Summit in May, alongside the University of Notre Dame’s Scott Rinehart.

What’s one piece of advice that you regularly give your student workers?
Take every opportunity to learn from the people around you. My experience has been that almost everyone who works in this industry is excited to share their love of what they do with others, and you can always pick something up from those around you. It’s a relationship business, and, if you’re actively seeking out and learning from others, it can only benefit you down the road.

If you would like to nominate someone in collegiate athletics administration to be featured in SVG Campus Shot Callers, please email SVG Director of Digital Brandon Costa at brandon@sportsvideo.org.