Even at a young age, Dagen Hughes felt called toward broadcasting.<\/p>\n
Since coming to Seton Hall, the College of Communication and the Arts student has explored every avenue of the business, working behind the camera on Pirates games and serving in both play-by-play and analyst roles. Displaying both a sense of humor and sense of adventure, his \u201cDagen Plays All the Sports\u201d videos include him competing with a number of Pirate athletes.<\/p>\n
But the college senior has flourished as a producer of live game action, where he calls all the shots and leads a full crew. \u201cYou\u2019re not the guy everybody knows about,\u201d Hughes says of that position, \u201cbut you\u2019re the one putting on the production. I like being the guy in charge. This may sound bad, but I like being the one ordering everyone around,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Considering his accomplishments in that position, Hughes has no need to apologize. In addition to his work with the Pirate Sports Network, Hughes produced soccer games for the Big East Digital Network via Fox Sports GO. Hughes and his team started working with Rush Media out of Wisconsin, a production company that also provides broadcast trucks and crews across the country, and traveled to the Midwest to learn about all the gadgets in the truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got inside and I was like, good grief, there\u2019s a ton of stuff in here that we\u2019ve never had before,\u201d Hughes says. A graphics computer and replay machine were just two of the items that changed everything about Seton Hall\u2019s productions. \u201cHaving all these new toys to play with was fantastic. It has everything you\u2019d see in a big-time production truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Seton Hall crew uses the truck on Pirate Sports Network games, including soccer, volleyball and women\u2019s basketball. Those are student-run productions in all aspects. But on Big East Digital Network and Fox productions, Rush also provides an experienced crew.<\/p>\n
The man still in charge of everyone? Hughes. Overseeing those games and the workers who have been in the business for years is a lot of responsibility for someone still in school \u2014 but Hughes thrives. \u201cWhen you tell them you\u2019re a student, a lot of them are very shocked,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cThey\u2019re all very respectful and they understand, hey, these guys at the end of the day are still students so we\u2019re still learning about the truck, stuff goes wrong, but you\u2019ve gotta be able to figure it all out.\u201d<\/p>\n
His ability to do just that impresses experienced pros. Rush Media\u2019s senior coordinating producer, Kevin Brellenthin, has worked with Hughes on the broadcasts and says, \u201cA big part of what makes Dagen so good is he can remain calm and troubleshoot during those times when something goes wrong. He just has a cool demeanor and is a problem solver, not someone who gets bothered very easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes wants to keep producing after he leaves Seton Hall, believing a career behind the camera, directing, leading, guiding the entire show, is the right path.<\/p>\n
Producing is in his blood now. When he watches a televised game with friends or family he notices camera angles and the thought behind them that those not in the business would never see. His ultimate dream? To produce ESPN\u2019s famed \u201cCollege GameDay,\u201d the network\u2019s long-running Saturday morning football preview show that airs from different campuses. It\u2019s a lofty goal, but when you hear a veteran producer like Brellenthin talk about Hughes, there\u2019s no doubt he could make it happen. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t treat it as an internship,\u201d Brellenthin says. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t treat it lightly. He treats it like it\u2019s his job to put a good product out there. He takes pride in it. What I tell any other school that wants to get into stuff like this and wants to do their own broadcasts: Make sure you have the Dagens of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortunately for the Pirates\u2019 sports teams and all of its broadcast outlets, Seton Hall has had him for four years.<\/p>\n
Shawn Fury is an author in New York City.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even at a young age, Dagen Hughes felt called toward broadcasting. Since coming to Seton Hall, the College of Communication and the Arts student has explored every avenue of the business, working behind the camera on Pirates games and serving in both play-by-play and analyst roles.<\/p>\n