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Three Up, Three Down is a Q&A series aimed at highlighting young members of the College Sports Communicators membership, their career paths and what they enjoy in their roles on a day-to-day basis.
Young professionals spotlight: Three up, three down with Chris Finch, Video Coordinator at Davidson
by Dani Gariglio – Davidson College, Associate Director of Athletic Communications @dgarigz11
Young Professionals Committee Chair
Chris Finch has been immersed in college sports and content creation since his freshman year at Virginia Tech. Working with HokieVision throughout his entire undergraduate and graduate career, Finch has transformed the Davidson College Athletics Department with his ACC experience in just one year.
After becoming Davidson’s Video Coordinator in July 2021, a dual role that involves the ESPN+ live streaming of all home events and content creation for all of the Wildcats’ 21 varsity sports, Finch has elevated all aspects of Davidson Athletic’s brand in his short time with the ‘Cats.
Outside of work, Finch, 26, is a competitive runner, preparing for his first marathon race on April 30, 2023 in Big Sur, California.
You worked at the Power 5 level during your entire undergraduate and graduate career before coming to Davidson. What has been the most interesting/rewarding differences you’ve found between the mid-major and Power 5 levels?
"I think the biggest difference between working mid-major after working at the Power 5 level for so long is the sheer number of resources and staffing at your disposal. I remember working ACC Network broadcasts at Virginia Tech where we had crews of up to 20 people and we were broadcasting games on ESPN2, ESPNU, and the ACC Network linearly. At Davidson, we’re lucky if we have five people staffing a broadcast on a given day, and it’s usually just a couple of cameras and some graphics. Broadcast food isn’t guaranteed, we have to transport all of our equipment between venues and you usually have to troubleshoot something within an hour of game time. I think people don’t realize just how large the gap is unless you’ve worked in both places. That’s why upsets like St. Peter’s over Kentucky are even more significant to me."
At Davidson, you’re the primary person responsible for video content between 21 Division I athletic teams along with all live streaming duties. How do you manage your time between each of those tasks and what does a typical day look like for you with so many different responsibilities?
"Time management and organization are two items that are essential to doing my job effectively. I’ve always been good with time management, but organization was a tough one for me when I got to Davidson and has been something I’ve been putting an emphasis on this year as our department grows. A typical game day for me will be as follows:"
7:00 AM: Get up, go for a run, and take stock on all of the tasks I need to get done today.
9:00 AM: Arrive in the office and check with my boss Joey Beeler and make sure he didn’t have anything for me come across his desk that morning (It happens more often than you’d think!)
10:00 AM: Knock out any quick, initial edits.
12:00 PM: Lunch!
1:00 PM: Begin a second edit if the first one was quick, or finish the piece I was working on earlier in the morning
3:30 PM: Begin hauling equipment to the CATV broadcast trailer and setting up the ESPN+
6:00: Complete broadcast setup and check in with ESPN Transmission
7:00: Showtime!
9:10: Strike
9:30: Drive home, shower, head to bed, and do it all again the next day!
What are three things you need to keep on you at all times at work and why?
"Three things I need are my phone, air pods, and watermelon sour patch kids! My phone to communicate with everyone throughout the day, my air pods for those long setup sessions and watermelon sour patch kids for that boost of energy mid-day."
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