CSVS Q&A: Kelly Carney, Associate Commissioner, Conference USA

In anticipation of the second-annual College Sports Video Summit, to be held June 8-9 in Atlanta, SVG has assembled a distinguished group of college sports-video experts to serve as the advisory board to help shape the event and ensure its relevance to the industry. Leading up to the two-day summit, SVG will check in with all the members of the board to discuss their involvement, what they hope the Summit will accomplish, and how CSVS can help the industry move forward. This week, Kelly Carney, associate commissioner of Conference USA, explains how this year’s CSVS program offers something for everyone — even the non-technical set.

Why are you involved with the College Sports Video Summit?
The Summit has proved itself as a great gateway into learning the newest technology and sharing ideas with some of the top professionals in the field. Technology is advancing so quickly within our industry, it is important for us all to stay current, or even ahead of the curve. My association with the College Sports Video Summit will help keep Conference USA at the forefront of technology with a better understanding of all of the options out there for us.

What do you hope CSVS will accomplish?
I hope to meet people with all the answers. I am certainly not a technical person, so I want to find the right people within our industry that have the right answers and information for Conference USA and our member institutions. Whether it’s people that know about the latest equipment, how to save money along the way, how to increase content being viewed by fans, concepts that have already worked, or not worked, for someone else — those are the things we need to know. I hope to develop and foster relationships with individuals that I can call on or work with at a later date.

Give us a feel for the state of the college sports industry when it comes to video. Where are we?
I think we are all at different levels, for different reasons. The Summit can help move that bar by providing information and options for colleges (and conferences) at all levels. The CSVS can provide answers and information to colleges and conferences with big budgets, small budgets, large staff, small staff, etc. Just as an example, the 12 schools in Conference USA all handle video production differently.

With budgets constantly tightening, how can colleges (and conferences) use video to become more cost-effective?
I think we all want to find ways to be more cost-effective but, more important, find ways to use video as an additional revenue stream. If we are going to convince our bosses to invest in new equipment and new technology, we need to understand how the expenditure can produce new revenue down the road. There are people already out there accomplishing this. Having the opportunity to hear their stories and share best practices will benefit others in applying various multimedia to promote teams and programs.

What are you most looking forward to at CSVS?
I think the agenda for this year’s summit looks great! Really good speakers addressing a wide variety of topics. There is definitely something for everyone — especially the way the agenda breaks off into different tracks. I am looking forward to taking it all in and returning to work much more informed!