In honor of National Women and Girls in Sports Day, the Sports Communication and Media (SCM) program put together an all-female broadcast team on Feb. 7. The broadcast was aired live on ESPN+ to show the women’s basketball game against Mount St. Mary’s University at the Pitt Center.
SCM Graduate Assistant Cat Da Rocha, who usually works as a sideline reporter, produced the game and played a key role in crewing the fifth annual all-female broadcast.
“I’m so glad that we got to do a crew of 17 women, and even throughout the entire show, we highlighted everyone involved,” said Da Rocha. “I wanted to make sure that not only we succeeded in general, but that we were being highlighted in a very positive light.”
Source: Instagram, @scmatshu
Senior Shannon Tuttle, managing editor of the Spectrum, sat alongside Da Rocha in the control room, directing the broadcast.
“Having these women come into these roles, it’s really impressive for everyone across the board,” said Tuttle. “I would definitely give a huge shoutout to my handheld camera operators.”
Junior SCM student Lauren McQuillan worked handheld camera for the game. She praised Da Rocha and Tuttle for their ability to plan out the crew sheet and get everyone ready for the broadcast.
“I had never worked a camera for a game, let alone handheld,” said McQuillan. “Now, it’s something that I see myself in, and I feel like broadcasts like this give more of an opportunity to women who might be interested and want to learn.”
This game was a learning opportunity as the women got to cover an overtime game in the Pitt Center.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in the game and the intensity of it, but in the control room, you have to have a level of responsibility to understand that we are broadcasting a game,” said Tuttle.
“When things come that you don’t expect, it kind of turns into chaos,” said Da Rocha. “With the help of my crew, everyone still stayed calm, and I think that’s the biggest thing: we all communicated well and helped each other.”
The women’s basketball team fell 68-63, but that did not take away the joy and passion these women felt being in the crew.
“What I took out of this experience was how supportive women are for each other in the sports media industry,” said senior Sami Millerick, who was technical director for the broadcast. “No matter what position or experience level, every woman in the crew supported each other, and no mistake felt like a burden.”
Even after a loss, the crew shone a light on the younger generation, hoping a show like this would help bring awareness to women in the sports media industry.
“Do it. It’s awesome,” said McQuillan. “It’s such an amazing community to be a part of now, and I can’t imagine what it’s going to look like in 10 to 15 years.”
