You Ask, We Answer: What opportunities are there for sports broadcasting & journalism?

Our admission counselors get lots of different questions from students, and one that we’ve received a couple times this past year is from students interested in sports broadcasting and sports journalism, wondering what sort of opportunities there are at PLU for hands-on experiences in those areas.

So, we reached out to Mark Albanese, the Director of Sports Communication in our Athletics Department (Go Lutes!), and here’s what he had to say:

“When I was an undergrad [student], I actually got a marketing degree, but worked for a local baseball team in the summers and my senior year worked in the University’s sports communications office. It was a great experience that obviously helped get me where I am today.

At PLU, we have tons of opportunities for individuals to get experience in broadcasting. We stream every home event for soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, swimming, baseball, softball, and lacrosse, which ends up being lots of total airtime – and we’re always looking for more students to fill those roles. Additionally, we also do postgame interviews and some other video content, so there are a lot of chances to get hands-on experience.

Some students who worked for us now work for pro teams or other college sports teams, and one alum works as a sports reporter for a TV station in California.

The one advantage that PLU has over [other schools] is that since we don’t have a [specific] broadcasting program,* it might actually be easier to get on-air opportunities to broadcast games than at a school that has an entire major devoted to it.”