In honor of Women’s History Month, Shippensburg University Television (SUTV) continues the tradition of highlighting women in sports broadcasting. On March 1, the Women’s Basketball game will have a completely female-led production team broadcasting the event.
This tradition began in 2024, creating a way to mark Women’s History Month and encourage more female students to pursue the sports media field. Joshua (JD) Dorazio, SUTV general manager and junior communication, journalism and media major, described the initiative as a way to celebrate women and give students the opportunity for hands-on experience in an industry where women have historically been underrepresented.
“The initiative was an exercise in girl power that created an opportunity for female students to work with their peers, managing all facets of a live sports broadcast,” Dorazio said. “The objective was to eliminate intimidation from participating in live sporting event broadcasts and provide an environment of comfortability to learn and gain experience.”
In 2024, the broadcast was positively received, with students eager to take on various roles, including director, producer, graphics, audio, play-by-play, color commentary, sideline reporting and camera operations. According to Dorazio, female students from outside of SUTV also signed up, showing that interest in being a part of the initiative span across the university.
“Once the game ended last year, there was a great sense of camaraderie and accomplishment,” Dorazio said. “The coverage was such a success that there was immediate interest in doing it again this year. As of today, we already have a full crew and expect even more students to sign up.”
Women’s History Month serves to honor and respect the contributions of women throughout history and women today – across all industries. SUTV’s initiative displays that when women are given the opportunity to lead in sports media, they thrive. As the March 1 broadcast rolls around the corner, Dorazio showed appreciation for the students who dedicate their time to SUTV and to faculty members for supporting such opportunities, specifically, Carrie Sipes in the communication, journalism and media (CJM) department.
“I want to acknowledge all SUTV members,” Dorazio said. “These are students who volunteer their time on nights and weekends to cover university events, news, and sports—consuming many hours of their time—with a goal of personal learning and informing our audiences.”
On March 1, you can stream the all-women-led production of the Raider’s basketball game on the Ship Raiders website, under Live Events.
