One year later:  BCTV students broadcast with ESPN

For the second time in a row, the BCTV crew got to work with ESPN on a national broadcast on Saturday, Sept. 22, as the Butler Grizzlies took on the Snow College Badgers. 

Matt Jacobs, the BCTV director and adviser, works alongside the crew, which is made up of students, for football broadcasts. There were a few notable differences from last year’s ESPN national broadcast. 

“The biggest difference this year was that we got to do it from our home stadium, so that was a lot easier for us, because we're not having to load up the trailer” Jacobs said. “Plus last year we had an outside person do commentary, and this year it was our own commentary team, which is myself and Chris Jones. That was pretty, pretty nice to be able to do it all by ourselves.”  

In 2023, the Butler Grizzlies took on the Dodge City Conquistadors, and the BCTV crew was able to gain hands-on experience at the time in producing, writing, directing and on-camera performance. 

Sophomore Annabelle Gilchrist said that getting the opportunity to work on an ESPN broadcast on a national platform is very surreal, but having directors like Tyler Nordman, director of Creative Media, and Jacobs makes everything a lot easier. This is Gilchrist’s third time work an event with ESPN. 

“…. we had a staff of a few people that ESPN sent to help us with the football game,” Gilchrist said. “Our first ESPN+ game was against Dodge City at Dodge City, which was a challenge with it not being at home, but we figured it out. It was a new experience for all the BCTV staff, but we always adapt quickly. We treated it as if it was one of our own broadcasts because the mindset we have going into anything is giving it everything we have. We work too hard to create a platform and group to not work to the best of our ability.” 

Freshman Ike Jones came into BCTV and had no idea that he would be ending up being a lead filmer for an ESPN broadcast. It was such a new, exciting experience and gave him confidence in his skills. This was his first ever time being a part of an ESPN Event.  

“ I think that the entire broadcast was truly a success,” Jones said. “I think we executed our shots and cuts extremely well. We were all very locked in to get the best shots we could put out. I definitely started to notice moving around the camera got sort of difficult the closer the play got to me…. It was all a very cool first experience. It's definitely a different environment up in the control room when the ESPN people are up there and everyone on coms is very locked in.” 

Jacobs, who has worked at Butler CC for over 20 years, hopes to continue to grow the program. So far, the BCTV crew have been able to work with outside agencies. 

“We get hired by a lot of outside organizations to produce events for them, like the NBC tournaments and baseball tournaments,” Jacobs said. “Wichita,… hired us to broadcast all their games. Wichita State actually hired us to broadcast one of their track meets, so we just want to keep getting a chance to give our students awesome opportunities is really my main goal.” 

According to Jacobs, three years ago BCTV was made up of eight students and has now grown to 32. 

Prior to enrolling at Butler CC, Gilchrist was a football manager for four years, so she wanted to continue to be involved in sports somehow. 

“I look forward to seeing where Tyler and Matt take this program,” Gilchrist said. “They've already contributed so much to BCTV, and they don't plan to stop growing any time soon. I'm proud of how much progress we have made as a team even in just the year I have been involved, not to mention before I showed up.” 

Jones feels his that his strength is his flexibility. 

“They can throw me on anything, and I can adapt to it quickly,” Jones said. “I can work in stressful work environments, which happen all the time with sports media. I’m most excited to be courtside or on the field. It's what I love about it most, getting those shots right next to the players. I think I’m a great fit for sports media since being a previous athlete, I know what to look for in sports.” 

To learn more about the BCTV program, visit:  https://www.butlercc.edu/info/201224/student-media-outlets/852/bctv