Bellisario College of Communications

Penn State sends ‘team’ to Super Bowl with students getting hands-on experience

Eleven communications students completing internships and media-related professional opportunities

Kathryn Tague (left) and Michael Brown are among the 11 Penn State students working at the Super Bowl this year. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —  While the focus at Super Bowl LVII will justifiably fall on the two teams on the field, Penn State has its own “team” at the event in Arizona — a group of 11 communications students completing internships or participating in media-related professional opportunities.

The 11 students, enough to field a football team, have roles assisting the Associated Press on its coverage of the game and related events, working with the NFL and its partners, and working with the game’s broadcast partner, FOX Sports.

The game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will be played Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

“It’s a talented group that represents the Bellisario College and Penn State well,” said John Affleck, head of the Department of Journalism and director of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. He’ll be working closely with five of the students at part of a partnership with the Associated Press. That group of seniors includes: Gabe Angieri, from Lindenhurst, New York; Katie Braun, from North Wales, Pennsylvania; Sam Fremin, from Ashburn, Virgina; Zach Gershman, from Philadelphia; and Olivia Korman, from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Students from the Curley Center have previously assisted Associated Press journalists at the Super Bowl, Paralympics and Little League World Series.

Two other students — Zach Donaldson, a senior from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and Emma Holtz, a junior from Pittsburgh — are representing CommRadio, the Bellisario College’s internet-based radio station at the Super Bowl. They’ll work from Radio Row during the week, hosting shows and interviewing guests while working side by side with media members from across the country. Their broadcasts will be complemented by reports from other CommRadio students on campus.

Two more students are working with the NFL’s communications team. Those two, Michael Brown, a senior from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and Kathryn Tague, a junior from Villanova, Pennsylvania, have been on site since Saturday. As communications assistants for the league, they have been assisting with distribution of media credentials and working with media members from across the world, as well as NFL players and team officials. They are working under the supervision of Michael Signora (Penn State class of 1996), senior vice president of football and international communications for the NFL, and Cody Enos (Penn State class of 2016), football communications coordinator for the NFL.

All of those students have received financial support from Penn State benefactors through scholarships or travel funds in the Bellisario College.

Brown is a scholarship recipient, getting support from the Lou H. Murray Scholarship. Tague is supported by the Lawrence G. and Ellen M. Foster Scholarship. Several travel funds support Curley Center endeavors, including: the Marty and John Aronoff Travel Fund, the Linda Flewelling Travel Fund, the Jim and Martha Morris Travel Fund, and the Michael G. Missanelli Sports Journalism Travel Fund.

Junior Maggie Atkins is returning home for the game. She came to Penn State from Gilbert, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. She’s working this week as a brand ambassador for the NFL and EA Sports, focused largely on the Madden gaming brand during fan-focused events in the days leading up to the big game.

Finally, senior Sydney Sterling of Ashburn, Virginia, has been in Arizona since Jan. 23 working for FOX Sports as a studio runner. She connected with the company as a part-time employee when the network’s “Big Noon Kickoff” visited Penn State during college football season, and subsequently helped the company another week during the college football season. Her work ethic and talent ultimately helped open the door to working at the Super Bowl. It’s an entry-level position, and a big-time opportunity.

In addition to the students, Penn State has a big presence at the game, beginning with Eagles running back and former Nittany Lion Miles Sanders, as well as numerous alumni broadcasters, national media members and nearly a dozen Penn Staters who work at NFL Films. The director of FOX’s game broadcast, which will be seen by nearly 100 million people, is alumnus and Curley Center council member Rich Russo (Penn State class of 1984). This is his fifth time directing the national telecast for FOX and he has worked 16 Super Bowls.

Last Updated February 8, 2023