Produced at SHU: Vantage Sports

By Nicole D’Andrea

Staff Writer

Vantage SportsNet is a thirty minute live sports show that is both recorded and produced at Sacred Heart University.

Its mission is to inform its viewers about all sporting events currently happening in Connecticut.

The show airs Monday through Friday from 10:30-11:00a.m. The show, which is ran by Frontier Communications, takes place in the TV studio located in the Martire Business and Communications building.

One of the unique aspects of the show is that they allow students to intern on the set of Vantage SportsNet.

Lauren Baker, a senior at Sacred Heart University, is an intern for the show.

“If you want a job working for a live tv show, this is a great starting point to a career,” said Baker.

The show staff’s ten interns per semester. Some of the positions include: running the audio board, building graphics, controlling the camera, stage manager, and technical director.

The show also broadcasts sporting events all over Connecticut. Such events range from little league games to professional games.

“Being a part of the live show gets me a foot in the door. I always had a passion for working for in both a sports show and in the control room,” said junior Victoria Balarezo.

The show airs live, which allows for minimal errors. If a mistake is made, it is important for students to learn how to recover quickly from making mistakes in front of a live studio audience.

The show conducts many interviews with athletes. By hosting these interviews, viewers see a window into what they might not have noticed otherwise.

There is a significant following of sporting events both on and off campus. Being a Division I school, it has been found that there is high interest in the sporting events that take place on the University’s campus.

Participating in a hands-on experience is crucial for individuals within this field. Working on a live show allows for students to gain experience in categories such as, learning how to use video equipment, conducting live interviews, and editing video and audio.

“My favorite position is TD, which is short for technical director. You control all the shots the director wants on and off screen,” said Balarezo.

The internship gives students the opportunity to experience all types of jobs and positions. This then allows students to hone-in on specific areas of expertise.

“The control room has an open door policy, anyone can watch or volunteer,” said Allison Gaskins, a graduate assistant at Sacred Heart.

This job opportunity allows for students to develop life-skills for their future.

There are five student contributors. They go out and film sporting events, edit, and present the show.

“If you want to work for broadcasting, this is the most hands on experience,” said Gaskins.

One of the two professional anchors of Vantage SportsNet works for ESPN.

Students at Sacred Heart can become involved with the show by applying to be an intern for the 2018 spring semester.

Vantage SportsNet can be viewed on cable, Frontier, Directv, and Optimum. The show can be found on channel 1500.

“A classmate that had recently participated in the internship enjoyed every moment of it,” said Balarezo.

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