“The feeling we all shared together at the end of the broadcast was pure excitement and accomplishment,” said Waynesburg University Sports Network co-producer, Paul Zalakar. “We have been preparing for that moment for our whole college career.”
Zalakar was referring to WUSN’s first production in high definition. WUSN covered the women and men’s final regular season home games on Saturday, Feb. 22.
The Department of Communication received a grant from the Stover Foundation, awarding the department the money to upgrade its equipment. Through the “3 to 1” campaign, the department accumulated over $500,000.
“Remarkable.”
That is what RPC Director of Technical Services, Bob Hawk, had to say of the production.
“I was quite frankly shocked how much show prep, pre production work was accomplished and how quickly students were acclimated to operating in a competent manner,” said Hawk. “I think [the students] did an excellent job.”
WUSN’s first high definition production was broadcasted on the department’s YouTube channel, WUDP. The production has 379 views at the conclusion of the live broadcast and the account gained six subscribers over the course of the production.
Many former members of the department were happy to see the quality of work that was produced.
“I had alumni texting me and contacting me on Twitter. They were watching and said that it was a really great production,” said instructor of communication, Melinda Skrbin. “I love seeing that kind of enthusiasm. I think that the alumni are proud.”
Director of Athletics, Adam Jack, is very pleased with the efforts that the students have put into WUSN.
“I could not be more proud of [the students] and excited for the future,” said Jack. “It means the world to the athletes and their families to have this professional coverage of the events.”
There may be other athletes that will be able to enjoy the coverage, as there is potential that WUSN will have productions that have never been done before.
“My intent is to explore the feasibility of doing remote production work for both softball and baseball venues,” said chairperson for the Department of Communication, Richard Krause.
The faculty is optimistic that the upgraded equipment will be a big draw for prospective students.
“It’s going to be a tremendous recruiting boost for us,” said Krause. “I think [the students] were doing amazing work with limited resources. Now that we’ve improved the resources, we’re hoping the work will continue to improve as well.”
Everybody involved in the project was very happy with the way the first production went.
“We have an amazing group of students that work really well together,” said Skrbin. “The collaboration I saw today is really impressive. It makes me proud.”
Numerous people, including Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee and the university’s Board of Trustees, were huge advocates of the project.
“The group from RPC made our dreams a reality. They were just as important in the process as everyone else,” Zalakar said. “I’m forever grateful for everyone that made this happen.”
The department is very excited for what is in store for WUSN.
“The future has never been brighter than what it is right now for this department and the students,” Krause said.