Kicking off the Student Symposiums

January 6 and 7 marked a special weekend for the Black Play-by-Play Broadcaster Grant & Scholarship Fund as we went to Nashville and partnered with Vanderbilt University Athletics for a first-of-its-kind broadcaster symposium.

We brought in six students, representing four colleges and one Nashville-area high school, to receive hands-on experience on the historic SEC campus. These students include previous Black PXP Fund recipients, D-I athletes & promising young talents looking to break into play-by-play.

So what did we do?

The capstone elements of the weekend were mock radio and television broadcasts at that weekend’s Vanderbilt-Alabama men’s basketball game and the Vanderbilt-Florida women’s basketball game from Memorial Gymnasium.

"It was a pleasure to partner with Vanderbilt University on an event we know will be so impactful for these students," said Adam Giardino, Executive Director of the Black PXP Fund. "There is no replacing the experience of being on-site for a major sporting event, and these students will be guided through all aspects of gameday in the SEC."

The weekend's activities were also supported by Learfield - the media and technology company powering college sports.

"It was a no-brainer for the Black PxP Fund to partner with Vanderbilt University for an event like this," said Giardino. "Vanderbilt has always prided itself on being a diversity leader in the SEC, and in the broadcast industry we owe it to broaden the types of voices that will make up the next wave of play-by-play broadcasters. We are thankful to Andrew Allegretta, Vanderbilt's Director of Radio Broadcasting, for taking the initiative to coordinate and host an event like this and for the folks at Learfield for providing assistance."

In addition to working with veteran broadcasters Allegretta and Giardino, the students heard from guest speakers Chris Lewis Play-by-Play | CBS Sports, Dave Neal Play-by-Play | SEC Network, Althea Thomas Director | Vanderbilt XC, Track & Field, and Dean McCondichie Producer | SEC Network Vanderbilt.

This is just the beginning! We have more events planned for the future — get in touch if you’d like to help host or attend a future symposium.