Texas A&M University Named Recipient of 2018 SVG/NACDA Technology Leadership Award
Aggies athletic department to be honored at SVG College Summit
Story Highlights
The Sports Video Group and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics are pleased to announce that Texas A&M University has been selected as the recipient of the sixth-annual SVG/NACDA Technology Leadership Award. The award will be formally presented on May 31 during the SVG College Summit (May 30 – June 1) in Atlanta.
The Technology Leadership Award is presented to the university athletic department that meets the outlined criteria of commitment to investment in and execution of broadcast and video infrastructure and technologies.
Texas A&M, led by its highly robust and talented 12th Man Productions, has been one of the elite athletic departments in the country, committed to video production and technology since the early 1990s. The university dramatically expanded its efforts with construction of a new $11.8 million video-production facility as part of a renovation of Kyle Field in 2014.
Today, 12th Man Productions oversees all video-production needs for the athletic department, providing content for television partners, the SEC Network, in-venue videoboards, and 12thMan.com. The department features a staff of 13 full-timers with nearly 90 students contributing to the overall efforts annually.
“Our number-one job at 12th Man Productions is to be effective storytellers for our athletics program at Texas A&M,” says Andy Richardson, assistant athletics director, 12th Man Productions. “This is done through the lens of an ever changing world of technology and how fans consume media. The constant has been the commitment from our administration to the resources, facilities, and staff necessary to effectively document Aggie sports. We are honored on behalf of our university to receive the SVG/NACDA Technology Leadership Award.”
The first video-production department at Texas A&M was created in 1993; it was formally rebranded 12th Man Productions in 2007. The first videoboard on campus was installed at Kyle Field in 1996. The new Kyle Field facility houses four control rooms capable of producing side-by-side live-broadcast and videoboard shows simultaneously. Six edit suites and two production studios provide setups for postproduction and live-production content.
“Texas A&M University and 12th Man Productions have continually reset the bar for what is capable for media production from a collegiate athletic department,” says Brandon Costa, director of digital, SVG/program director, SVG College Summit. “Since the school’s move to the Southeastern Conference, those efforts have been further accentuated with the hundreds of live events that the team produces for the SEC Network. Also, the university’s commitment to recruiting and training student talent is unparalleled for a school of its size and scope. We are honored to celebrate the tremendous work done by everyone in College Station.”
In addition to the incalculable amount of content that the department creates for its various web and social-media platforms, 12th Man Productions oversees more than 100 in-venue shows and more than 80 live SEC Network broadcasts per academic year.
“All of us at NACDA are pleased to congratulate Texas A&M University on receiving this prestigious award,” says NACDA Executive Director Bob Vecchione. “The investments in video production and innovative technology being made across the country by athletic departments are truly impressive, and the Aggies have long been at the forefront of those efforts. NACDA is proud to continue its partnership with SVG on this important annual recognition.”
12th Man Productions has been honored for its work countless times over the years, including SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards in 2013 (Program Series) and 2016 (Live Studio/Remote-Hosted Programming), several Telly Awards, and a 2016 Lone Star Regional Emmy Award for its Aggie Football TV show. The department also produced the critically acclaimed documentary The Burning Desire, a 10-year-anniversary remembrance of the 1999 Aggie Bonfire tragedy.
To view the criteria used to select the SVG/NACDA Technology Leadership Award recipients, CLICK HERE.
SVG/NACDA Technology Leadership Award Recipients
2018 – Texas A&M University
2017 – University of Nebraska
2016 – University of Alabama
2015 – Brigham Young University
2014 – University of Oklahoma
2013 – University of Notre Dame
For more information regarding the SVG College Sports Summit and to register for the event, visit www.svgcollege.com. Follow the event on Twitter at @SVGCollege.