CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for ESPN Game, Studio Coverage

Interconnected fleet of mobile units underpins multi-layered operation at Hard Rock Stadium

Behind ESPN’s expansive College Football Playoff National Championship operation at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL, is one of Game Creek Video’s most comprehensive, technically integrated compounds to date.

Game Creek Video is out in force to support ESPN at the CFP National Championship Game at Hard Rock Stadium. (Photos: Game Creek Video)

For the title game, Game Creek has deployed a fleet of core mobile units dedicated to every major layer of ESPN’s production ecosystem: Varsity A/B handling the main game telecast, Gridiron A/B serving as MegaCast hub, 79 A/B supporting Field Pass and game operations, Gameday and H1 powering studio programming, Maverick dedicated to ACC Network productions, and Edit 1 providing additional game support.

“It is an honor to be entrusted with such a significant broadcast,” says Brian Nupnau, engineering manager, Game Creek Video. “We at Game Creek Video feel privileged to have such a strong partnership with ESPN, and we have worked closely with their operations team to ensure they have everything required for an event of this magnitude.”

The technical core of the compound is built around a fully shared SMPTE ST 2110 environment linking Varsity, Gridiron, and Gameday. The trucks are interconnected with 384 signal paths in each direction and 256 channels of AoIP audio, creating what is effectively a single, distributed production plant capable of supporting simultaneous game, MegaCast, and studio workflows.

The Game Creek fleet is highlighted in Miami Gardens by core trucks Varsity, Gridiron, and Gameday, which are sharing all ST 2110 signals.

For Nupnau, the most striking evolution continues to be how IP infrastructure is reshaping large-scale remote production: “ST 2110 has been a game-changer for large compounds. Now it is primarily a question of bandwidth between units. We had signals flowing between trucks within hours of power-up, which was unheard of just a few years ago. IP also removes the bottleneck of a single engineer routing all sources: each engineer can select the sources they need and build their own show independently. This is undoubtedly the future of all large-scale compounds.”

Onsite, the operation features approximately 95 cameras, including 45 Sony HDC-5500’s — 17 of which are dedicated high-frame-rate units — along with 24 EVS XT-VIA servers. Audio is supported by three Calrec Apollo consoles, three Artemis consoles, and 10 Calrec field boxes. More than 50 network switches are deployed throughout the stadium and compound to support Dante audio, RTS intercom panels, and router control.

“We strive to improve on the previous Championship every year,” Nupnau says. “This year, we benefited greatly from the expertise of many returning engineers and the deployment of our most advanced mobile units.”

Inside Game Creek Video’s camera-storage tent for the 2026 CFP National Championship Game

The build itself was a logistical sprint. Game Creek’s trucks began rolling in at 4 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 12, with Varsity and Maverick completing a cross-country run from the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona and additional units arriving from the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

In total, Game Creek has approximately 45 drivers and engineers onsite supporting the effort. Co-project managers on the event are Chris Smith, who is overseeing the game side, and Scott Fussey, who leads the studio operation. Game Creek has also deployed a team of its top specialists: Bryan McKenzie and Alyssa Genereux in charge of the ST 2110 compound networking; Tony Fumo, IT and communications support; Zach White, audio, Jason Kepner and Andy McCoy, compound and field engineers; and Sabyrna Rogers and Nate Procek, logistical support.