Bulls Above The Boards Broadcast for Vanderbilt game to Highlight Head Coach Jose Fernandez’s 25th Anniversary
TAMPA, NOV. 14, 2024 – University of South Florida Athletics will break new ground for school-led broadcast productions when the Bulls take on Vanderbilt Thursday in a 7 p.m. tip in the Yuengling Center, which will mark the 25th anniversary for highly-successful head coach Jose Fernandez at USF.
Alongside the school-produced main ESPN+ broadcast of the game, USF and production partners Gemstone Media, Inc. will add a first-of-its-kind school-led alternate broadcast streaming simultaneously on ESPN+. Dubbed Bulls Above The Boards, the alternate ESPN+ broadcast will feature unique views from cameras mounted above the backboards, a super slow-motion camera above the rim, and a “Megalodon” mobile camera on the floor. The alternate broadcast will feature three hosts discussing the action on the floor and topics around USF women’s basketball with in-person and remote special guests throughout the game in a style similar to ESPN’s “ManningCast” for NFL games.
“I’m very excited by the quality, creativity and professionalism our broadcast team continues to bring to our many productions for ESPN,” said USF Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly, who will join the main broadcast at halftime. “I’m proud that we continue to challenge ourselves to be a leader in the broadcast space, not only producing nearly 200 broadcasts a year but pushing the envelope on what is possible from a school-led production.”
Both broadcasts will feature all-female talent, with Krista Blunk, Leah Secondo and Caylee Cottrell covering the main game broadcast from all angles in the arena and Kelly Burke, Savanna Collins and Brooke Weisbrod hosting the Bulls Above The Boards broadcast from a set in USF’s production studio adjacent to the Yuengling Center. The main production will also feature an all- female led production behind the scenes and most cameras operated by women.
Fans can flip between the main game broadcast and alternate Bulls Above The Boards broadcast, which will air commercial-free throughout the game and begin broadcasting during warm-ups.
Bulls’ fans will hear from former USF women’s basketball greats including USF Athletic Hall of Famers Jessica Dickson (2003-07), the Bull’s all-time leading scorer, and Shantia Grace (2005-09), the Bull’s all-time career assist leader, and All-Big East honorees and twins Andrea and Andrell Smith (2010-13). All played for Fernandez and were part of building the tradition of USF women’s basketball in his 25 years at the helm, which includes more than 450 wins, nine NCAA tournament appearances, thirteen-straight 19-win seasons, three AAC titles and a 2009 WNIT championship.
Also joining the Bulls Above the Boards broadcast will be former WNBA President Donna Orender and Vice President of Events for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission Claire Lessinger, who will play a major role in Tampa hosting its record-setting fourth Women’s Final Four in April.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 21 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 13 different sports, 20 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference, including the recent additions of women’s lacrosse and women’s beach volleyball. The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and will be in its 59th season in 2024-25. More than 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. USF garnered two national championships in 2022-23 as Romaine Beckford won NCAA indoor and outdoor high jump titles. The Bulls have claimed 32 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including four in 2023-24, and own 149 conference titles in 16 sports in department history, led by 20 each for men’s tennis and men’s soccer. USF has claimed 80 men’s conference championships and 69 women’s titles, led by 14 in women’s tennis and 12 in volleyball. The Bulls have posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for a program record of 19 straight semesters as of spring 2024. USF has had over 700 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
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