Students gain rare career experience covering volleyball

Students gain rare career experience covering volleyball

Credit: Penn State Sports Information No. 1 Penn State defeated Purdue

University Park, Pa. -- Dan Krupinsky and Tommy DeVito are getting national exposure while strengthening their resumes producing and announcing for Penn State Women’s volleyball. Both seniors, the two are getting hands-on, real-world experience thanks to Penn State’s athletic department and the Big Ten Network.

"The experience I’ve had working with and broadcasting for the team this season has been incredible,” said Krupinsky, a sports broadcasting/journalism major from Shrewsbury, Pa. “Normally, with student broadcasts, you kind of do spot duty, as in you get one game here, one game there, so it’s hard to really get into a rhythm and get to know a team. But with volleyball, I get to do every match. I’m around the team all the time, so it creates a really professional work environment, and it’s something that a lot of people the same age as me aren’t getting.

Krupinksy, who was asked to broadcast the games during his sophomore year -- he was already announcing them for ComRadio, Penn State's student radio -- said this year has topped the two before. Now he gets to travel with the team, work as technical director while on the road and use new equipment provided by the Big Ten Network for international webcasts as well as announcing.

“There are definitely worse ways to spend my weekends than traveling around with the No. 1 team in the nation as they’re chasing history, trying to become the first women’s Division I program to win three straight national titles,” Krupinsky said. 

DeVito, a broadcast journalism student from St. Petersburg, Fla., works on technical aspects of the productions. Working with the volleyball team and the Big Ten Network to execute successful sports broadcasts will help secure his future out of college. The technology he has learned to use, including state-of-the-art fly pack equipment, will put him a step above many college graduates in his field.

"The BTN productions are a lot of fun -- it’s great career experience with top-of-the-line HD equipment,” DeVito said.

He said producing the telecasts with his peers is a great opportunity and he really enjoys working with the broadcasters, camera ops and director.

“It’s not just a resume builder, its practical career experience. Plus, it’s really cool when you hear the number of paid customers viewing the webcast live,” he said. “When I see it on TV it really hits me, and I'm just like ‘Wow, I helped produce that.’ That’s the best part, watching it on TV, because when you are working, you are focused on the specifics of the job, but when you get a chance to step back and look at the big picture, you see how professional it really looks.

DeVito likes working in live sports broadcasting because he has learned to go with the flow -- he never knows what is going to happen on the volleyball court, the camera or the microphone.

“There’s only so much you can prepare for and, granted, preparation takes a lot of work and certainly helps. But once the game or match starts, you never know where you’ll end up,” he said. “Sports has always been a passion of mine, and I love being on camera as much as I do behind the scenes because either way, you’re able to piece a broadcast together, capture the atmosphere and bring it to fans across the globe.”

DeVito is also a ComRadio member and originally provided the audio for many Penn State Volleyball webcasts before Krupinsky was able to do play-by-play and analysis.

“Student U” is the new brand under which the Big Ten Network is airing volleyball and the student-powered streams of other events. For more information about the broadcasts and Penn State's women’s volleyball team, please visit http://www.bigtennetwork.com/schedule/Student_U-TV-schedule.asp and http://www.GoPSUSports.com online.