Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is partnering with FOX Sports to launch a new course dedicated to sports media.

Known as The Sports Media Project, the course is an offshoot of FOX Sports University, a program designed to reduce the gap between academia and the sports industry by partnering students with FOX Sports executives, according to the Newhouse website.

Founded nine years ago, FOX Sports University has partnered with 38 universities across the country and worked with more than 3,500 students, according to the FOX Sports website.

The SU course is jointly taught by Ed Russell, associate professor of advertising, and John Nicholson, professor of practice for broadcast and digital journalism and director of the Newhouse Sports Media Center. The two were originally paired by Newhouse Dean Lorraine Branham to pursue the project, and were both glad to accept.

“I love creating new courses,” Russell said in an email. “It’s one of the most fun things professors get to do.”

Russell credits his love of competition for what he’s looking forward to most about the class.

“I’m the faculty advisor for TNH, the student-run ad agency on campus, and we enter (and win) a lot of competitions,” Russell said. “When I worked in advertising, I loved doing new business for the same reason.”

Due to confidentiality agreements, the syllabus of the course can’t be revealed in detail. However, the bare bones of it include a challenge presented by FOX Sports that students must compete in teams to solve and make a finalized proposal in December.

Along the way, executives and talent at FOX Sports, including FOX Sports anchor and SU alumnus Nick Wright, will check up on the students’ progress either via Skype or in face-to-face meetings.

There isn’t a concrete prize for the winning team. However, the benefits are a fair trade off.

“There is certainly an element to involving the students after the fact,” said Molly Stires of FOX Sports University. “We want to continue the educational opportunities outside of the classroom.”

Stires has been working closely with Nicholson and Russell to help create the course.

Twenty-four spots for The Sports Media Project — all of which have been filled for this semester — are held by a variety of majors.

Even though juniors and seniors of all majors are welcome to take the course, those who are not in Newhouse will have to apply.

“What we want to see in the resumes is that you have an understanding of (the sports media industry) more than maybe watching sports on TV or reading about it,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson said one of the most important parts of the course is getting to ally with other majors in an upper-level setting.

“You get the collaboration of other very smart students with different backgrounds, in terms of their course of study and their professional goals, than what they’re used to,” he said.

Another benefit of The Sports Media Project is being given the access to contacts at FOX Sports.

“Having FOX Sports U on their resume certainly goes a long way with our hiring managers and our recruiters, so it’s something that we really look to, at least from our company standpoint, just targeting students who know our business and the ins and outs of our company,” Stires said.

Published on September 11, 2016 at 11:48 pm

Contact: hsmalach@syr.edu