Live and Online: Chargers Boast Robust Streaming Production for Home Contests
Written by Doug Goodnough
Online streaming of sporting events at the college and high school level is now considered mainstream. In fact, it is pretty much expected.
However, Ted Matko and Hillsdale College were broadcasting athletic events long before the YouTubes and Twitches of the internet world existed. Almost 30 years ago, Chargers athletic events were first broadcast on the local public cable access channel, and for the past 24 years, Chargers football games have been streamed online. Matko, who has spent 43 years handling much of the College’s video production, has settled in for the past few as Hillsdale’s director of Sports Broadcasting. And with that singular focus, he remains the driving force behind Chargers Athletics’ online presence.
“It was just football and basketball,” the 68-year-old Matko said of Hillsdale’s original online broadcasting presence. “We were just getting started.”
Matko’s insistence on making the athletic broadcasts as professional as possible meant getting on-air talent to call the games. He helped recruit local radio personalities Jim Measel and Dan Bisher to handle the microphone duties. For the past 24 years, they have been the video voices of Chargers Football. They have expanded their work in recent years to include online basketball, baseball, and softball broadcasts.
“I wanted it to be professional and interesting,” Matko said of his online streaming operation. “You don’t want it to be like a parent with a camera in the stands. You want to engage your audience. You want to get closeups. You want to see the faces. You want to build that emotion. You want to include graphics to provide information. Anything you see on a Saturday or a Sunday for the big boys like ESPN—that’s what we’re trying to emulate.”
Matko said a generous donation gifted to the College about 10 years ago has helped make that a reality. Those funds allowed the College to upgrade its video and production equipment. Another donation helped the campus to get “wired,” giving Hillsdale and many of its athletic facilities the needed technology to allow for a seamless online streaming experience.
Matko, who started his career as a photographer in high school, has witnessed the evolution of video production and fully embraced the technology side of the industry. His “office” in a corner room just off the main Potter Arena playing floor in the Roche Sports Complex is an array of video monitors and computer equipment. It also serves as the command center for Chargers broadcasts.
What is the process to broadcast a home sporting event?
“We get all the graphics done one or two days in advance,” Matko said. “We pull the stats from the other school, so we’ll build side-by-side comparisons of players. Once we get that done, we load it into the system.”
That system allows for pre-populating content such as in-game commercials and graphics. For a typical home football game, there are usually three cameras in use. And there is a connection to the stadium scoreboard to show the time on the clock and other information important to the viewers.
“We have a microphone on top of the press box to give us the crowd sound,” he said. “If I have enough student workers, I have a parabolic microphone that I like one of them to use on the sideline to hear the quarterback and the crunches.”
Matko or Assistant Manager of Video Production Brandon Plond are usually the ones directing the broadcasts.
“I have a router so I can choose wherever the cameras go, what cameras I want to go to, and the slow motion,” said Matko, who directs all the camera operators and production assistants through an in-house communication system. “One of the cool things we do that nobody else does is what we call game breaks. We’ll bring up [other conference] games that are going on. So instead of doing commercials, we’ll show other games.”
He said he enjoys the fast action of volleyball matches and basketball games and has a five-camera setup for those to catch as much of the action as possible.
“Your main camera up top follows the action and anticipates where the ball is going to go,” Matko said of a volleyball broadcast. “You do your breakaways using those other cameras in between plays. And there’s the stuff like when the girls come together and slap a high-five, or that individual hero shot for someone who’s made a good play. Those are all the elements that you use to make it more interesting than just a single camera.”
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference has its own network/online app for member schools, including Hillsdale. Matko said the broadcast standards the conference sets have been a big help in improving the overall quality of the livestreams.
What is his biggest challenge?
“Finding enough students to work,” he said. “If I have a full crew of five cameras, I’ve got one on the net, and then we have point-of-view cameras. I have a slow motion operator, a graphics operator, hopefully someone doing sound, and someone switching [between cameras]. Then you have two commentators. That’s what it takes to do a nice job.”
Currently the Chargers provide live online streaming for home football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, and track and field contests. Matko hopes to one day include men’s and women’s tennis and swimming events. And he is pleased that Hillsdale’s online streaming service is free for parents and fans.
“Some conferences have gone to pay-per-view,” Matko said. “I’m against that. The only people you are penalizing are the parents. Keep it free and let the parents and grandparents watch their kids.”
Matko said despite his hectic schedule, he still has time to enjoy watching the Chargers in action as a fan.
“My office is just off the court. It’s fun to watch the practices,” he said. “The athletes work so hard. Not only are they doing their practices and then working individually, but they’re also keeping up the same schedule as the regular student body. It’s amazing that they can do this.”
To catch Hillsdale College Athletics online, visit hillsdalechargers.com.
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s senior director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Reposted from the spring 2025 issue of Arete.