Bart Fox was driving to Indianapolis and rattling off storylines for the Blue-White Game.
As he casually glanced in his side mirror, he started with the three coordinator changes. He moved from that topic to Abdul Carter’s move to defensive end and then to the development of the offensive line, all while keeping his eyes on the road.
That’s a good thing for Penn State fans who’ll watch the Blue-White Game on the Big Ten Network this Saturday — because Fox will be producing the broadcast. If he’s able to flash his Penn State knowledge while rolling down the interstate on a Zoom call, there’s no doubt he’ll keep the game coverage focused on what blue-and-white fans want when that’s the only thing he has to worry about. It should be a fun ride.
“I think serving the viewer is the thing we can do that makes a game successful,” Fox said. “In this case, we’re here for Penn State fans who are interested in all those changes, as well as the arrival of Julian Fleming and what new players will emerge as leaders. We know they just want to get a look at their team, and maybe a sense of how the depth chart is shaping up.”
While BTN has just one fanbase to worry about during a spring game, and generally gets to do so in a more laid-back atmosphere, the network commits the same number of personnel to its coverage as it would for a regular season game.
As Alex Bertsche, BTN’s vice president of production, points out, the number of seats in the production truck does not change. The number of cameras used for the broadcast falls short of the number used on Big Noon Kickoff or Big Ten Saturday Night, but not by much.
Plus, a spring game comes with more unpredictability than a regular season game — and that’s something Fox worries about.
“I’m always more concerned going into a spring game because there’s so many wild cards,” Fox said. “We’ve been at spring games before when a punting contest breaks out.”
While regular season games have 15-minute quarters and a guaranteed format, spring games can adjust based on the whim of the coach. Plus, some might be split-team approaches, offense vs. defense or even feature unique scoring systems. Coach James Franklin said fans can expect a competitive, game-like approach this Saturday, but Penn State has done some of those unusual things in the past.
Bertsche, Fox and their team have communicated regularly with Penn State in the past couple of weeks to get a sense of the format and plans. While wild cards can be worrisome, unpredictability has its merits for the TV folks.
“With personalities like Spice Adams and Keegan-Michael Key, we’ve had some really fun moments at Penn State during spring games,” Bertsche said. “Plus, it’s not two teams involved like the regular season. Only Penn State fans are watching, so they’re our priority. To them, the game is the thing, and we respect that.”
The broadcast crew certainly has some solid Penn State perspective. Along with play-by-play man Jason Ross Jr., the analysts are Matt Millen and Adam Breneman.
Of course, Millen was an All-American defensive lineman at Penn State who went on to a 12-year NFL career where he earned four Super Bowl rings. After that, he easily moved into a career as a TV analyst and for a long time was justifiably considered one of the best in the business. Sure, his stint as GM of the Detroit Lions did not go well, but that’s one of the few hiccups on his football resume. He’s been with BTN since 2015 — still doing fine while often working with up-and-coming play-by-play folks.
Breneman played two seasons for Penn State as a tight end then transferred to UMass before injuries shortened his career. Getting an opportunity as an analyst for Penn State’s spring game represents another step as he builds his media presence. He’s handled assignments for BTN since 2022, and for CBS Sports last season.
As co-founder and head of content for Mercury, he’s already proven adept, and successful, with podcasts and social media creation. Plus, Mercury, thanks to Breneman, has become an almost a de facto partner with Penn State and its players on some media related things.
Spring games eventually become a little less than interesting, even for the most die-hard fans, but Millen and Breneman should be able to serve Penn State fans well as things veer into bigger-picture discussions about conference expansion becoming reality this fall and even the business of college athletics — and there’s a decent chance the two men think a little differently about players monetizing their status, for example.
Discussions like that would be appropriate, Fox said. Plus, there’s probably hope that the Penn State familiarity can enable the broadcasters to get some additional access.
“If we had our way, we’d love to have Franklin and the coordinators mic’d up and listen in, or pay it back periodically,” he said. “We’d like our reporter to go to the bench area and ask questions. Some schools give us greater latitude than others. We ask, which is all we can do, and take it from there.”
If Fox and friends can get that, viewers could be along for an interesting ride.
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