How to Cover College Teams as a Sports Broadcaster

Video Transcript

"I'm Jamal Spencer for Expert Village, here at ABC 3 here in Lansing, and we're going to talk about how to be a successful sports broadcaster. This clip is about covering college sports. College sports are a big step up from high school. It's a lot more professional. And truth be told, it's the closest that you'll get to covering professional sports, if you're in a market that doesn't allow for it. For instance, if you work in a state like Wyoming, that does not have a professional team, Iowa, that does not have a professional team, college sports is that state's professional team, so it's very big. They wrestling program at Wyoming if huge. College football at Iowa is huge, so covering college sports can be a great step for your career or you can stay there is you wish. It's a very big market. There are a lot of players to see. Like I said, you get to know these kids as freshmen and sophomores, they'll remember you as juniors and seniors when they're national news and everyone wants to talk to them. They'll remember, you talked to them first. The best thing about this job on any level, but specifically college sports, make a connection with these players so that they'll know, hey, I am not just here for a story, I genuinely care about you, I like you as person, I want to make sure you do well in class, that you're not staying out late partying with knuckleheads and they'll remember, hey this guy looked out for me. He didn't just want a story. So when they make it to the NBA or the NFL or the NHL, they'll go,"Hey, that guy from that market always looked out for me, and anytime I'm in that city, I'll give you an exclusive interview anytime you want." Covering college sports can be great because you've got the NCAA Tournament, March Madness, you've got bowl games, you've got BCS, you've got tons of dollars coming your way. It's a great thing. College sports are wonderful. You've got the crowds. You've got Dickie V yelling at you all the time. It's very energetic. You've got to love college sports, got to love the market. If you can't make it to the pros, it's a step up from high school and it's a very professional market to cover college sports."