Trinity’s No. 1 ranked baseball team and brand new football scoreboard — the biggest in DIII — already set Trinity sports apart, but the Tiger Network, the online streaming service, boosts Trinity far ahead of the pack.
The free, HD service provides both live and on-demand coverage of campus events, including academic lectures, Trinity traditions and sporting events. Students, alumni, friends and family that want to stay connected with the Trinity community can to do so from all corners of the globe.
Tiger Network started off small in 2015, with single camera coverage and on-and-off commentating. James L. Turner, who graduated from Trinity in 1962, stumbled upon the network while living in the Philippines and decided that he wanted to help elevate the network even more.
Turner donated $100,000, and coverage has skyrocketed since then. Tiger Network allows fans to watch sporting events from multiple camera angles in high definition, as well as provide instant replays and highlight packages. The manager of Tiger Network and Trinity’s sports marketing coordinator, Joshua Moczygemba, says this has been the goal all along.
“Our goal was to provide engaging broadcasts that would be closer to the types of games that you would see on television,” Moczygemba said.
Moczygemba doesn’t do it all on his own. Tiger Network uses many student interns to film, control, announce and produce most of the streams.
Callum Squires, a recent Trinity graduate, is currently the lead broadcaster for the Tiger Network.
“Usually, that means I do play-by-play commentary and host the stream itself. Sometimes, I’ll do color commentary to mix it up,” Squires said.
He’s been doing commentary ever since the network started in 2015. To prepare for the broadcast, Squires will research on the opposition a few days before the match, read through up-to-date statistics for both teams and work out who the top players are.
“Commentary is really storytelling and the more detail you have the better story you can tell. It’ll usually take me a good hour or two of research for me to be happy with the stuff I’ve learned and feel comfortable with name pronunciations and knowledge about both teams,” Squires said.
On the day before the broadcast, Moczygemba sets up all of the cables that allow the broadcast to happen. The day of the broadcast is filled with camera set up and audio checks.
Tiger Network is accessible to anyone around the world, and it’s also free, which is what makes it unique compared to other live-streaming services operated by competing colleges and universities.
“I love the fact that we’re able to connect with people all over the world. We’re able to bring the Trinity campus into their homes, or their phones,” Moczygemba said.
Trinity student-athletes also appreciate the livestreams. Athletes are able to replay film and share video clips of their performance. Students who are unable to attend lectures are able to watch them on demand afterward. It’s a win-win for all.
The Tiger Network plays a huge role in the student-athlete experience.
“My family is able to watch all of my games online for free, which is really important to me. As an out-of-state athlete, having something like the Tiger Network is crucial to my Trinity experience,” said Brooke Bastien, a sophomore on the volleyball team.
Moczygemba credits the administration for helping boost Tiger Network.
“Having well-known guest lecturers and one of the best athletic programs in the country not only helps but pushes Tiger Network to be better,” Moczygemba said.
Tiger Network is also superb in quality when compared to other DIII broadcasts. The streams are constantly being complimented on social media platforms, and other schools are stunned by the detail that goes into the scoreboard graphics, commentators and multiple camera angles.
“We’re garnering recognition from around the country and I only want to continue to raise the profile of the university and the professionalism of the product we put out,” Squires said.
In comparison, other schools of Trinity’s size don’t host their own live streaming network. Universities will typically send their stream to another platform, such as CollegeTV Ticket, which parties must pay a fee to access. Streams are often limited to one camera angle, and broadcasters are scarce. Digital scoreboards aren’t used, and the streams are rarely in high definition.
“I jokingly call the Tiger Network ‘DIII-SPN,’ but that’s genuinely where I see us taking it,” Squires said.
Diane Wilks • May 25, 2018 at 9:02 am
Great article Hailey. Excellent articulation and fascinating information! I love reading all of the articles you write because they are so interesting Tyvm Diane Wilks