While it’s not the same as attending in person, if you enjoy watching UMBC basketball or Commencement live online, soon you might also be able to watch other major campus events in the same way. In addition, like many of UMBC’s ESPN+ broadcasts now, most of the production crews will likely be staffed by UMBC students and young alums. 

Through a competitive procurement process facilitated by UMBC Procurement & Strategic Sourcing over the summer, the University recently selected VPC, Inc. of Reisterstown, Maryland, to provide high definition (HD), live stream broadcast capabilities across campus. Over the past three years, the firm had partnered with UMBC Athletics, DoIT and Media & Communications Studies (MCS) to provide video production services, primarily for the broadcast of basketball games on ESPN+. UMBC Athletics and DoIT collaborated to solicit a partner with a shared strategic vision to expand live streaming beyond athletics, and continue the strong participation of UMBC students and young alums as production crew staff. The initial contract term with VPC, Inc. --  to be coordinated through DoIT’s New Media Studio -- is for three years, with optional renewals for up to an additional five years.

“VPC has been a strong campus partner for many years, having produced numerous commencements, alumni awards, anniversary celebrations and athletics events,” says Jack Suess, Vice President of IT and Chief Information Officer (CIO). “We’re especially pleased to work with a partner so committed to higher education and training our students to work alongside industry professionals in live stream broadcasting.”

In addition to producing UMBC’s ESPN3 broadcasts, VPC, Inc. has provided production services for marquee events such as the AFL Arena Bowl, the Olympics, and the Kentucky Derby. VPC provides scoreboard production and engineering services for the United States Naval Academy and 3 NFL teams including the Ravens. In recent years, the firm has also “crossed over” into college and university commencements, capital campaign launches and alumni awards including involvement for the UMBC50 Celebration. Today, the firm routinely produces more than 250 events a year, with over 100 of them in live sports production. The University’s new contractual agreement with VPC also complements DoIT’s 2017 upgrade of the New Media Studio  to HD.

“We couldn’t be happier to continue the campus partnership with UMBC,” says Eli Eisenberg, CEO of VPC, and a 1986 UMBC alum. “We’ve enjoyed working with Athletics and look forward to continue doing so under the relationship with DoIT for other major campus events. Regardless of the event or venue, our professional staff really enjoys working with students, and helping them grow their skillsets." 

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is pleased to announce that Dustin Roddy has been named manager of its New Media Studio (NMS). A 2014 graduate of the Media & Communications Studies (MCS) & American Studies programs, Roddy brings a rare combination of technical expertise as a video producer as well as excellent people and customer service skills.

In addition to daily responsibilities managing the Studio, Dustin played a key role in the successful partnership between DoIT, Athletics and Media Communication Studies to lead UMBC's live streaming of men's and women's basketball on ESPN3 that was featured in UMBC Magazine. He also worked with VPC Communications, owned by '86 Alum Eli Eisenberg, to oversee the Studio's upgrade to high definition (HD) broadcast quality production facilities, which supports numerous MCS student interns hired by Athletics to air 30+ ESPN3 broadcasts each year.

Dustin’s good working relationships were invaluable during and after UMBC's historic upset of #1 seed UVA in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Late that evening and all during the next two days, as the spotlight shone brightly on UMBC, Dustin helped educate the CBS "futures" producer who was only assigned the next day. She literally knew nothing about UMBC, so Dustin was feeding her information, web links and video archive footage with little more than a moment's notice. Eventually, Dustin’s in-game and behind-the-scenes footage was also on display in the CBS Sports retrospective, “Four Sides of the Story,” that aired this past fall.