On September 4, Trinity University launched the Tiger Network, a live streaming service that broadcasts athletic events, lectures, and other on-campus events. University Marketing and Communications, the Center for Learning and Technology and the Athletics Department are sponsoring the Tiger Network.

Michelle Bartonico, the director of University Communications and Marketing, explains that the Tiger Network will help alumni connect with Trinity from afar.

“[What] we’re doing with it is trying to connect alumni back to campus who are all over the country or the world, who can’t get back for a soccer game or a lecture, but want to have the continued value of lifelong learning at Trinity,” Bartonico said.
On September 4 and 5, the Tiger Network streamed the first men’s and women’s soccer games of the season. The first live streams on the Tiger Network reached a broad audience, according to Chuck White, vice-president for Information Resources, Communication and Marketing.

“The first soccer game we did had 1300 viewers. The second two that we’ve done, both men’s and women’s, ran at about 700 viewers. That’s quite a lot. That’s way more than we had on any of the other streams,” White said.

The Tiger Network streams in high definition with multiple camera angles, instant replays and an announcer. The previous streaming service used to be a single camera with lower definition, according to White.

“It used to be one camera sitting on the top of a roof somewhere aimed at the center at whatever field it was playing on. It used to stream in 4020 resolution, so you could hardly see the ball,” White said. “We’re streaming in true HD 1080. We have multiple cameras and we have commentators who know the sport they’re covering.”

The Tiger Network includes a student-run team that works on the production of the live streams including camera work and commentary. The student commentators are knowledgeable in the sport their broadcasting, according to White.

“For example, the soccer commentator, Chris Garagiola, really understands the game of soccer. And when we do baseball, tennis and volleyball, we have commentators who actually understand the game. So they can tell you what’s going on even if you don’t fully understand, they can give you some good insight,” White said.

At first the Tiger Network began with athletic events and now there are plans to include on campus lectures. The Jane Goodall lecture, “The Jane Effect,” will be the first lecture broadcasted live on the Tiger Network on September 24 at 7:30 p.m. Bartonico explains that the Tiger Network hopes to include both athletics and educational events in the future.

“We weren’t sure when we were going to be able to expand it into educational components. We got really lucky with Jane Goodall allowing us to live stream the event,” Bartonico said.

The Tiger Network hopes to receive live streaming permission from future lecturers at Trinity. Some lectures may be password protected and only accessible to the Trinity community and alumni, according to Bartonico.

“In terms of the big lectures, we’re trying to work it into their negotiations. We plan to move the Food for Thought series onto the Tiger Network and the Colleen Grissom lecture during Alumni Weekend. We’ve also got several other lectures that we’ve marked in our calendars that we want to try to stream, given permission,” Bartonico said.

Outside of athletic events and lectures, the Tiger Network will also live stream major Trinity events to the outside community. For instance, the Christmas concert and Commencement ceremony will be available for streaming worldwide.

White explained that the Tiger Network will increase alumni engagement and reach a broad community which is one of the four guiding principles of the university’s strategic plan, Trinity Tomorrow.

The strategic plan’s fourth principle states that, “A Trinity education starts when you are an undergraduate but doesn’t stop there. We want to inspire in our students a lifetime love of learning, and we want to stay engaged with them as alumni.”
The Tiger Network is intended to connect with alumni, students and the larger community by broadcasting numerous Trinity events worldwide, including lectures and sporting events.