HPU Sports Link
Q News
Reagan Smith
Imagine, while being in the sports media program at High Point University, a student had the opportunity to perform live as a broadcaster for the amazing and practical experience of learning, firsthand, what it’s like in a variety of jobs both in front of as well as behind the camera. The pragmatic training acquired by a student in that situation would be invaluable in building a resume to launch a career. Now imagine, as a result of circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the benefits of a program of that caliber are suddenly and entirely taken away. In the spring of 2020, the world-wide pandemic, as a result of the infectious disease and the ensuing panic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Coronavirus), put the lives of everyone on hold. During the alarming and deadly initial outbreak, schools, jobs, and life in general were shut down for the safety and security of the most vulnerable people in our communities. For those students in the sport media program who were a part of HPU Sports Link and had dedicated so much time and effort to honing their craft, it felt like all of the hard work they had devoted to start their professional journey was pointless.
HPU Sports Link is a student organization at High Point University that allows students to broadcast Division-1 college sporting events on radio stations as well as ESPN+ streaming service. Before the outbreak of the Coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, this club was beloved and appreciated by the athletes from all of High Point’s varsity sports teams for the exposure they received as the sports media students covered the games, meets, and events on HPU’s campus. It was a wonderful opportunity for the athlete’s families, many of whom live out of state and cannot always attend the games, to watch their loved one’s compete.
HPU Sports Link works directly with the High Point University Athletic Department, the coaches, and staff members to enrich their programs through professional broadcasting. This is often used as a recruiting tool for many coaches to attract the most outstanding high school talent to High Point. HPU Sports Link broadcasts more than100 games on the beautiful HPU campus every year. These broadcasts not only display the male and female athletes and coaches from a variety of sports programs such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and lacrosse, but also display the beautiful first-class facilities that embody the extraordinary atmosphere for which High Point is known.
As a result of the pandemic that began in the spring of 2020 and impacted our world in a way that was not imaginable, all of the schools across America were shut down and the students were sent home. Unfortunately for the sports media students at High Point University, who were a part of the HPU Sports Link crew, they lost the chance to continue working with professional broadcast and production equipment for almost a year. However, in spite of this unforeseen setback, Sports Link was not at its end. President of the organization, Wendell Epps said, “there was never a point where I thought Sports Link was going to end. I knew there was a risk of us losing some opportunities or having to make adjustments, but I never thought that Sports Link would go away forever.” As the pandemic continued and the government lockdown seemed to be unending, frustration began to escalate causing students to doubt if the opportunity to return to campus and continue to learn the skills of sports broadcasting and production would ever become a reality. Epps went on to say, “It was a total team effort to get everybody on the same page. When we came back in 2021, all of the sports were played in one season after the fall sports were postponed. We were scrambling as we were forced to do four to five games within 48 hours. It was insane but we had a great crew that made everything easy and fun.”
Upon returning to campus, the students worked diligently to revitalize their organization. Despite the complications of the pandemic, the director of creative services, Nicole Frechette, and her staff, worked extremely hard to give the students a semblance of a return to normalcy. Frechette said, “I wanted to help the students get these amazing opportunities back. The opportunities that come with Sports Link are some not every college student can say they had. I had to work extra hard throughout the COVID year to be able to provide the students with the chance to broadcast and produce. These are incredibly talented students and I wanted to make sure that they got as many reps as possible.” The organization started to flourish again once the COVID year had passed. Student engagement in HPU Sports Link has increased tremendously since the return to campus following the pandemic lockdown. “Because of the increase in student engagement, the organization has reached new heights as it has continued to grow year after year. We have a new control room for our production staff, our broadcasters have access to new high-quality equipment, and we have added a press room for interviews after basketball games”, according to Piper Sirois, the Sports Link Vice President.
All in all, HPU Sports Link is an organization that is growing bigger and better than ever since the setback experienced during the Coronavirus pandemic. It seems as if the opportunities that were lost during the Covid lockdowns serve as motivation to keep the club going strong. With the realization of how quickly their amazing opportunities can be lost, students seem to no longer take these things for granted and are more willing to take advantage of the extraordinary experience offered to the sports media program through the Sports Link club and High Point University to develop professionally and put them on the path for a successful career.
