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Over 400 students and educators attend high school sports media conference at Ouachita

December 03, 2025 - Chase Hartsell

The Ouachita Sports Digital Network at Ouachita Baptist University welcomed more than 400 high school students and teachers to campus on Nov. 12 for its fourth annual OSDN High School Sports Media Conference.

The free event included a series of panels featuring sports media professionals from around Arkansas and the region. Led by OSDN student leaders as well as faculty and staff, each discussion covered an important topic within the industry, such as broadcast production, writing and podcasting.

“The goal is for the students to learn something that they can take back to their respective schools to help their programs get better,” Chris Babb, assistant professor of communications and director of sports media, said. “It’s also a way for students to see Ouachita and the learning opportunities they have if they want to study this in college.”

Ouachita’s student-led network broadcasts over 100 live athletic events annually and has received the Arkansas College Media Association’s TV General Excellence Award three years in a row. OSDN students also produce weekly studio shows, podcasts, creative videos and more.

At this year's conference, OSDN hosted 35 different schools, with one being Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock. Deanna McGill, a 2001 Ouachita graduate who teaches studio art & graphic design and serves as yearbook advisor at Catholic, has made the event an annual tradition for her school’s media program.

“It’s a great way to reinforce what we teach in our journalism classes with real life professionals,” McGill said. “I believe making those connections with professionals could have life-changing ramifications for students as well. It’s a well-organized event, and the fact that it’s free is another major bonus. I also like to show off my alma mater. I think they have something special down there in Arkadelphia.”

Cooper Darr, an OSDN junior, interviews Ouachita President Ben Sells and Henderson State Chancellor Trey Berry during a live pregame show ahead of the 2025 Battle of the Ravine. OSDN students broadcast more than 100 athletic events each year.

McGill wasn’t the only Ouachita alum to return. Among Nov. 12’s panelists were Hogs+ producer Tony Ranchino and Northwestern State/ESPN+ play-by-play broadcaster Patrick Netherton, both of whom talked about how their experiences in Ouachita’s Rogers Department of Communications paved the way for professional success. Professors of communications Dr. Jeff Root and Dr. Deborah Root also joined sessions on play-by-play and women in sports media, respectively. At lunch, OSDN alumni Matthew Branch and Isaac Edwards joined current OSDN junior Cole Shipp for a breakdown of creative sports video — a segment brought back by popular demand after a successful debut in 2024.

“I felt honored to be a panelist,” Branch, now director of creative services for University of Central Arkansas Athletics, said. “It was a great opportunity to share what I’ve learned in the industry with the next generation of sports media professionals while also highlighting my experiences from when I was an OSDN member to my current position.”

Attendance in 2025 was the conference’s highest yet: a promising sign for both Ouachita’s program and the sports media industry.

“It shows there’s an interest in these types of programs,” Babb said. “I know that we have students in our program now who came to this conference and either began their Ouachita journey or established a deeper connection through it.”

Babb and his team look forward to hosting the fifth OSDN High School Sports Media Conference in 2026 and exploring the possibilities of expanding the annual event in years to come.

Sports media is one of six emphases in the communications & media major offered by Ouachita’s Rogers Department of Communications. For more information, visit obu.edu/communications-media or contact the Office of Admissions Counseling at 870-245-5110 or [email protected].