These days, more than ever, college athletics is a big business. And, as with any big business, marketing is key. Of course, marketing costs money.
That’s where many HBCUs fall behind, especially at the Division II level.
Not for Virginia State University (VSU). A small team of producers with big accolades is helping put together polished, in-house content that helps VSU stand out above much of the work going on in Division II.
Jesse Vaughn is director of VSU’s Advanced Creative Services Group, an in-house advertising and production company at the school. He’s also a 27-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, who, along with fellow Emmy-winner Cedric Owens, has produced several pieces that are setting a new standard in terms of production of HBCU sports content at the university level and live on the school’s VSU Today YouTube channel.
“It’s basically two guys and a camera. We’re a small operation,” Vaughn said. The videos are shot in HD, of course, and use drone footage to complement interviews in stage lighting.
“We spend a lot of time working on our own individual crafts and development of our skillsets and I think that’s what you’re seeing when you see our videos. You’re see a lot of our passion for what we do and our love for what we do.”
In the past year, the team has produced high-quality content regarding VSU’s football program as well as it’s men’s and women’s basketball teams and one on the sparkling new 6,200-seat VSU Multipurpose Center, which opened in 2016.
