Over the next seven days, the Hastings College student media team will manage all game livestreams for the 2022 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa. The students left for Sioux City on Tuesday, and are setting up and testing equipment today, with games starting tomorrow. They will return March 23. During that stretch, they will produce all 15 games taking place at the Tyson Events Center, including the semifinal and championship games on March 21 and 22 that will stream live on ESPN3.
This is the second year in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes’s (NAIA) return to a single division championship. NAIA separated into two divisions in 1979-80, creating a 32-team championship for each division. In the current single division format, opening round games took place in locations across the country, with the final 16 teams converging in Sioux City for the championship.
Hastings College media students, coordinated through the College’s Center for Applied Media Arts, have covered the tournament for the last 19 years. Students operate cameras, replays, highlights and in-game graphics and other production work. The crew is managed by Andy Chase, live production coordinator; Dr. Bruce Batterson, associate professor of business administration; Jarod Rogers, adjunct instructor of media; and Mareena Womack, student media director.
The broadcast for the first 12 games will be available through a paid service offered by NAIA Network. The semifinal games will be streamed on NAIA’s network and ESPN3, while the championship game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN3.
Members of the 2022 Hastings College media team making the trip to Sioux City are listed below.
- Lolla Baker, a business major from Parker, Colorado
- Caitlin Bolton of Emporia, Kansas
- Jermaine Francis Jr., a health technology major from Nassau, The Bahamas
- Summer Pratt, a business major from Nassau, The Bahamas
- Chase Rath, a theatre major from Thedford, Nebraska
- Isaiah Strachan, a biochemistry major from Nassau, The Bahamas
- Matt Urbanski, a wildlife biology major from Omaha, Nebraska
- Mireia del Val Fernández, a business major from Madrid, Spain
- Mareena Womack, a business major from Aurora, Colorado
- Kiefer Zabel, a communication studies major from Georgetown, Colorado
In the early years of the Hastings College student media team going to Sioux City, they would broadcast only the Hastings College women’s basketball team games. In 2008, the NAIA contracted with Hastings College to have the media students produce and stream all games but the semifinals and championship. In 2014 and 2016, respectively, the NAIA extended the contract to include the semifinal and championship games.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Hastings’ student-centered initiatives include providing books, an iPad and a two-week study away experience at no additional cost. A block-style semester schedule allows professors and students to focus on fewer classes at a time and promotes hands-on experiences. Discover more at hastings.edu.
