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                                                           Sports Link: A Club For Future Stars A story focusing on the hard work and career development involved in the club Sports Link. Also focusing on the hardships that the club has had to overcome this semester.
By Alec Boyer It’s a Saturday afternoon at the Millis Center. Students and alumni alike walk into the building to watch the High Point men’s basketball take on Eastern Washington. However, not every student is here to watch the game, as a select few students will go up into the press box to broadcast the game with Sports Link. 

Sports Link is a student organization that works with HPU’s athletic staff to broadcast every home game for High Point. These games are broadcast directly to ESPN+, giving students a great opportunity to let their work be seen by a wider audience on a bigger stage. 

Non-stop Work, Non-stop Action Nichole Frechette's schedule is a busy one. Even on non gamedays, she has to make sure equipment is in working order and must keep an eye on the Sports Link schedule to see how her crew may look on gameday. During games, she works to help students make sure equipment is still in good condition and is working for the game. That includes cameras, audio, graphics, and replay. If something isn't working right she gets right to work on it to ensure it can be used during a game. If a tripod on camera breaks, she's there to fix it. Frechette does anything she can to ensure the highest quality broadcast Sports Link can make, and help from students can be a huge part of that "Having students working in every spot we need can really help a broadcast to go as smoothly as possibly," Frechette said. "When you have to work with a skeleton crew through games, it can be difficult to have a completely polished product, so having students in those roles can be a huge factor for the club."

A Big Stage for Development

One such student is Harris Eisenburg, who acts as the director of broadcasting for Sports Link. He has seen the club better help students develop their career with the recent move over to ESPN+.

“Being able to put ESPN+ on your resume is big,” Eisenburg said “It’s an eye catcher on a resume because of how huge ESPN is in the market of sports media and gives potential employers a great chance to see your work easily on a professional stage.”

Statistics provided by Bureau of Labor 

Statistics

While being a great help for developing a resume for a career after college, it doesn’t just help for the future. Skills learned in Sports Link have also helped students in their classes at High Point University, something that Sports Link’s president Thomas Burfield has experienced firsthand this year. 

“I took a class this semester where we used professional-grade broadcasting equipment to run a news broadcast every week.” Burfield said, “The knowledge I gained from using the same equipment in Sports Link allowed me to excel where my classmates struggled since they rarely get access to this equipment.

All Hands on Deck?

While Sports Link is a great chance for students to better their knowledge and develop their careers, it does not mean that the club has not had to face adversity this year. The biggest of this adversity came when all three Assistant Athletic Directors resigned right at the beginning of the school year. The club also saw a change in direct oversight, with Frechette coming in to replace the former Multimedia Production Coordinator just this year. 

The club also faces struggles because of a lack of involvement. Positions for Sports Link broadcasts are volunteer positions, meaning that no one is assigned to the roles and can sign up for sports that they feel like taking. A major factor for the lack of involvement is the time that a single game can take.

“A typical HPU sporting event lasts 2 hours, and we ask that members come an hour and a half early to properly prepare for the game and make sure all the equipment is ready,” Burfield said. “Seeing that most games are on the weekend, students are reluctant to take a good chuck out of their day to broadcast the games.” Related Articles Sports Broadcasting 101: Breaking Into The Business of Sports Media College student's sports broadcasting reel goes viral during job search