The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) will offer students a unique opportunity to produce a live, one-hour sports preview show backed, in part, from the latest allocation of strategic funds from the office of the University of Florida President.

The new show, modeled after ESPN’s College GameDay program, will provide valuable hands-on experiences in producing live sports content and telling powerful, data-driven sports stories. Students will gain experience both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, including anchoring, reporting, producing and directing.

The program will air live on various platforms Saturday mornings of Gator football home games starting in fall 2024. Students will provide a preview of that day’s game, insightful breakdowns and analytics, profiles of UF athletes and coaches, and highlights of the game-day experience. Going forward, the program could be expanded to other UF sports, high school sports and special event coverage.

The $70,000 in seed money will be used to assist with up-front costs for the program, including the creation of a portable news set that can be used in a highly visible location during home sporting events. The funding will also help cover student travel and lodging during away games.

“The College of Journalism and Communications has one of the top sports education programs in the country, from sports reporting and play-by-play announcing to sports production to sports marketing,” said Dean Hub Brown. “Strategic funding from the President’s Office will help our students use data for more in-depth sports stories and analysis about Gator football, and to provide new insights for Gator Nation.”

The new show is one of five projects included in a $2.5 million UF Sports Strategic Initiative, a collaboration with the College of Health and Human Performance, Warrington College of Business, College of Medicine, and Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering in partnership with the University Athletic Association. The funds will be used to study, disseminate and translate sports science and analytics. The end goals are to advance sport performance, improve health and wellbeing, and better prepare UF students for a rapidly changing future.

The funding is part of a $130 million allocation from the Florida Legislature this year, including $43 million from the President’s Office for colleges to support UF strategic initiatives. This semester, UF received more than 250 submissions, and 40 proposals were selected in four rounds of funding. UFCJC received $300,000 in round one to expand student journalism coverage of the environment, small business, and natural disasters and emergencies.

The College also received $700,000 in recurring funds to support its own strategic initiatives. Allocation of those funds will be determined in spring 2024.

Posted: January 5, 2024
Category: College News, Student News
Tagged as: Sports@CJC, UF Sports Strategic Initiative, UFCJC