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With the installation of new digital scoreboard at UNK’s Health and Sports Center, the Athletic Department has switched gears to place a greater emphasis on video production.

KEARNEY — When the University of Nebraska at Kearney Athletic Department installed new digital scoreboards in the Health and Sports Center, athletic director Marc Bauer realized something important about the new technology.

“There are two parts to running game day operations when it comes to the video boards,” he said. “There is the production side of it. The other side of it is the content. We made a decision early on that we were going to focus more on the content. As time moved forward, we realized that if we don’t know how to produce it, what’s the point of making the content?”

The department switched gears, placed a greater emphasis on the production side and hired Jeff Babl, who has 13 years of experience creating video content for the Viaero Event Center.

“We really hope it engages our fans differently by bringing a little more excitement,” Bauer said. “We hope it supports the student athlete experience a little differently, which I know it will. And then there’s the big one that we’re all concerned about — recruiting.”

LoperVision refers to both new equipment and video production content that the University of Nebraska at Kearney is using on new digital display boards in the Health and Sports Center.

With the advancement of the game day experience, fans want more than just the opportunity to watch a game in person. Todd Gottula, senior director of communications and marketing at UNK, talked about the expectations.

“These days, people expect to be able to look up at the scoreboard and see the replay,” he said.

The digital display boards can be used for more than just athletic events. Patrons attending events such as commencement enjoy close-up images of individuals involved in the events.

“It’s not solely for athletics,” Gottula said.

Several different departments worked together to create LoperVision, a title that refers to both the equipment and to the content.

Kyle Means, director of marketing for the school, seeks to find a balance between what happens on the court and what happens on computer screens.

“We have this beautiful, big screen system that will enhance the game and entertainment experience for fans who attend Loper athletics,” he said. “Simultaneously, we have a whole set of fans and audience members watching a livestream on their phones or computers. We’re catering to both audiences — in-arena fans and fans watching remotely. We have to keep that in mind in terms of sport video production.”

He recognizes the two different audiences.

“I’m happy for Loper fans, athletes and coaches,” Means said. “I’m excited to see how things grow from here.”

Part of that growth occurs on the side of livestreaming.

Bauer understands how watching LoperVision remotely can help the university.

“We’re hoping streaming touches people who aren’t able to come to the event,” he said. “Alumni that maybe live across the state or in another state, they can’t come in person, but they can get it online. We feed this right into a stream. We have a contract with BlueFrame Streaming. It is a shared revenue structure. Everything we produce, whether it is in the Health and Sports Center or if we go to the football stadium for football or soccer or even at the new tennis facility, has to be put behind a paywall. Essentially, in terms of admission, it’s just like someone paying admission to watch an event.”

As part of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, UNK produces video content to meet a certain expectation.

“BlueFrame and MIAA network have expectations that we have to meet in order to help us ensure we’re putting out a good product,” Bauer said. “When we stream it, not only do our fans watch it, but we have fans from other schools who are tapping into it as well.”

MIAA can fine schools that fail to meet those expectations, he noted.

Digital display boards at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Health and Sports Center can be used for more than athletic events. Patrons attending events such as commencement enjoy close-up images of individuals involved in the events.

“This was a unanimous decision by most of our athletic directors in terms of creating these expectations,” Bauer said. “Every institution is doing something a little different. We’re unique in that we’ve hired someone specific as a production coordinator for LoperVision. I don’t know if there’s another school that does that.”

The school also hires students to run the cameras and help produce the video streams.

“We’re looking at doing commercials between periods of the competitions,” he said. “You have this down time. What do you do during that time? We can do some interviews with coaches or put on some marketing material from the institution. There are a lot of opportunities to grow this. We’re just in the infancy stage. We’ll really just getting started.”

The digital scoreboards at the Health and Sports Center makes it all a little more special.

“We’re working on the football field,” Bauer said. “We don’t have digital scoreboards on our football field yet. That’s our next big project we’re working toward.”

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With the installation of new digital scoreboard at UNK’s Health and Sports Center, the Athletic Department has switched gears to place a greater emphasis on video production.

LoperVision refers to both new equipment and video production content that the University of Nebraska at Kearney is using on new digital display boards in the Health and Sports Center.

Digital display boards at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Health and Sports Center can be used for more than athletic events. Patrons attending events such as commencement enjoy close-up images of individuals involved in the events.

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