The production of the Nov. 12, 2022, broadcast of the Southeastern vs. Northwestern State football game that was streamed live on ESPN+ won a college division Student Production Award given by the Emmy Awards’ Suncoast Region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The Southeastern Channel has now won 24 Emmys with 77 Emmy nominations. The productions are honored in the Emmy Suncoast Region comprised of entries from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Puerto Rico.
The football broadcast won in the “Live Sporting Event/Game” category, making it the second time that the Southeastern Channel has been honored by the Emmys for a live game broadcast. The Southeastern Channel has been the only winner in the entire Suncoast Region in the “Live Sporting Event/Game” category.
The Southeastern Channel also received a nomination in the “Editing” category for a “Lion Tracks Promo” edited by student Jada Jackson of New Orleans.
Chase Gispert of Mandeville was the play-by-play announcer for the broadcast, while Lucas Hill of Zachary was the color analyst. Mackenzie Fletcher of Covington was the sideline reporter, and Taylor Nettle of Lacombe was the director of the live game broadcast. Southeastern defeated Northwestern, 23-7, in a battle for first place in the Southland Conference.
“It feels incredible! Knowing our hard work and quality were rewarded is special,” said Gispert. “Recognition by the Emmys is truly an honor. With the rich history of the Southeastern Channel, I knew this was a possibility, but seeing it come to fruition is truly satisfying.”
“It’s a blessing and honor to be named a winner of this amazing award,” Hill said. “This couldn’t have been accomplished without an amazing team at the Southeastern Channel, and all glory goes to the Lord above.”
“It means a lot to me,” Fletcher said. “Not many college students can say they were a part of a broadcast like this on ESPN+ that won a student Emmy. It honestly seems so surreal to say because these are the types of things many students dream of, and for our team to be able to experience this together is special.”
“You grow up hearing household organization names like the Emmys, ESPN, etc. and getting to work on ESPN+ games and receive awards from the Emmys is absolutely mind blowing,” Nettle said. “As a creator and storyteller, one of the greatest things is having people connect with your work, and I couldn’t be happier it was recognized and appreciated by such a prestigious organization.”
Other students playing key roles on the production were Jermaine Kelly of Shreveport, who handled instant replay, while Ross Chauvin of Houma and Brendon Smith of Baton Rouge created and operated the game graphics. Jules Dormain of Denham Springs was the chief audio mixer with audio assistance from Ian Nicoll of Covington, and Joliette Vincent of Luling was the video playback operator.
Camera operators were Tristyn Turner and John Williams, both from Denham Springs, Jacob Vitter of Mandeville, and Faith Farris of Slidell. Camera grips were Eric Brignac of Lutcher and Will Sensely of Baton Rouge.
Production assistants were Halle Jefferson of Baton Rouge, Alexis Genovese of Husser, Sequoia Boudy of McComb, Miss., and Charity Partlow of Houma.
The Southeastern Channel students produced 20 game broadcasts that streamed on ESPN+ last year for Southeastern football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball, including the Southland Conference volleyball tournament. Their productions are modeled after professional ESPN game broadcasts with extensive pre-game, halftime, and post-game segments featuring game highlights, statistics, and interviews with players and coaches.
In its 21 years of existence, the Southeastern Channel has won over 500 national, international and regional awards. The channel can be seen on Spectrum Cable 199 in Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany and St. Helena parishes and on mounthermonwebTV.com for viewers in Washington Parish. In addition, the live 24-7 broadcast can be seen on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and the channel’s website at thesoutheasternchannel.com, which also offers programs via video on demand. The Southeastern Channel is available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.