The Tripod

History has a wonderful way of repeating itself. Just ask ESPN's Bill Rasmussen and TSPN's Matt Sullivan '11. In the spring of 1978, Rasmussen, an unemployed DePauw University graduate, chose to construct a 24-hour sports programming network. Rasmussen was going against the societal norm, as there was no way a news network dedicated solely to sports could survive. This past week, with more than 18.6 million viewers tuned into the Eagles-Cowboys football game, Rasmussen could not have imagined that his plan to broadcast Connecticut sports would flourish into a multi-billion dollar empire, which we now know as ESPN.

In the fall of 2007, Sullivan had a vision to create a media-based site that would boost the student body's support of the athletic program and in turn, increase school spirit. The lack of enthusiasm for Trinity College athletics was, to him, overwhelmingly evident when he arrived on campus his freshmen year. Sullivan, being a baseball player, saw that there needed to be change. Looking at how the student bodies of Division I schools maintained high levels of appreciation for their athletic programs, he found there was one commonality: the media. With that he built the foundation for what Trinity athletes and coaches all willingly know as TSPN. With the help of the Athletic and Computer Science Departments, Sullivan managed to get his vision going, but needed to find assistance from students who also shared his passion for Trinity athletics.

Sullivan found Kate Murdock '11 who shared this passion for athletics. He also found computer savvy Chris Terlik '10 to manage and operate all publications that appear on the TSPN Website. With the assistance of those two Bantams, Sullivan was able to publish interviews about men's basketball, women's lacrosse, wrestling, squash, and baseball. There were ups and downs during its inaugural year, but TSPN was moving in the right direction.

With the new school year came great news and new additions to the staff. Sullivan, coming off a baseball season in which he won a National Championship, was told that the Computer Science Department would aid TSPN with media equipment and room availability. Furthermore, the athletic department vowed to help TSPN gain supporters within the athletic programs through e-mails sent out by Director of Athletics, Richard Hazelton and Associate Director of Athletics, Robin Sheppard.

In the early stages of this year, Sullivan added three new faces to his staff: Jack Abbott '10, Rhett Prentice '10, and myself. I think that the three additions, coupled with the strong nucleus, have increased the professionalism and popularity of TSPN. The staff has already done interviews with the captains from the men's soccer, women's volleyball, and football teams.

Every Thursday, TSPN produces a pre-game show for the week's upcoming football game, in which the cast offers up their analysis of the game, players to watch for, and a final score prediction. The site was launched in Spring 2008 and has received approximately 6,650 hits since then. It contains interviews and sports shows about Trinity athletes, with all videos being embedded from YouTube for the viewing convenience of visitors.

The athletic department and the TSPN staff know that there is no limit to Sullivan's vision. How will TSPN's success be measured? The answer is simple. It'll be measured by the level of school spirit that a Trinity student or supporter can feel when he or she attends a Bantam athletic event. Part of the college experience is to see how a loud and fanatic student body can motivate a college athlete to do physical tasks that he or she thinks are impossible. This experience can't be found in a book.

Tune in to TSPN and come support the Bantams at the next athletic event.

Visit TSPN online at http://org.trincoll.edu/TSPN.

Editor's Note: Joey Roberts is a reporter for TSPN and The Trinity Tripod.

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