Think back to the last Virginia football game you attended at Scott Stadium. But don't think about the final score, the missed calls or the big plays; instead, remember the atmosphere -- the sights and sounds of experiencing a college football game.
Well, to have a successful college football experience, there are a lot more people involved besides the football team here at Virginia. There are literally dozens of employees whose number one objective is to make sure that the students and public get the most out of their time at Scott Stadium.
Operation: Game Day
Scott Stadium is not one of the nation's premier college football stadiums just because of the mountains in the background and the columns in the North end zone. On Saturdays, Scott Stadium turns into a full-blown operation that involves teams other than those in navy and orange. The man to lead such a grand operation: Jason Bauman, associate athletic director for facilities and game operations.
With a title that is as big as his job, Bauman oversees all aspects of Scott Stadium's operations, from field and shop maintenance to housekeeping to ticket office sales to media relations and all the way down to security and parking issues.
"It's a lot of logistics and a lot of details," Bauman said."You want it to go as well as possible for the fan experience."
Preparations are made throughout the week so that when Saturday rolls around all functions are good to go. The field maintenance crew, headed by Jimmy Rodgers, keeps up the field's Tifsport Bermuda Grass throughout the season. Rodgers and his staff are also responsible for all the painting that happens on the gridiron, a process that begins Tuesday and is completed on Friday. All in all, 120 gallons of white paint, 90 gallons of orange and 20 gallons of blue are used to paint everything from the hash marks to the diamonds in the end zone.
"I love working with Mother Nature," Rodgers said with the smile and care only a man who works with his hands all day can have. "I love combining grass care, turf care with the athletic environment here at Virginia."
Housekeeping at Scott Stadium, led by supervisor Anne Martin, involves cleaning, stocking and maintaining the locker rooms, 56 suites, press box, president's box and 130 bathrooms located around the concourse. Martin keeps a staff of 11 full-time employees and hires eight more for the day of the game. On Saturday, the crew divides into teams that cover different sections across the stadium that must be on call to take care of any cleaning problems that might arise. Monday is another big day as they have to do full clean-up.
"It's a challenge to work around 62,000 people," Martin said with a grin. "And I love a challenge."
To keep any large-scale building working, you need a man in charge of all the shop maintenance. Fortunately for Bauman, he has Gary Fewell, the supervisor for Shop Maintenance, and a staff of 11 to handle the responsibilities of keeping the power, heating, air conditioning and scoreboards stable. Responsibilities also include setting up power for the TV crews that often come to big games, as well as making sure the plumbing works throughout Scott Stadium.
During games, Fewell and his crew set up a mini-headquarters in the South Lot so that they can be on call for any emergency that may arise in the stadium, much like Martin and her crew do for housekeeping.
The "Memorable Experience"
Implementing sponsorships into a Cavalier football game and coordinating all the promotional events at Scott Stadium are no easy tasks. This undertaking is headed by Andrew Rader, associate athletic director of marketing, promotions and licensing and the sports promotions office staff.
Most people have seen the "Uncommon Play of the Game" or the "'Hoos in the NFL" segments on 'Hoo Vision.Observant viewers will also notice each of these pieces is supported by a sponsor, such as Wachovia or the U.Va. Health System. It is the responsibility of Cavalier Sports Marketing to find the companies to sponsor these segments.
Once they have their sponsors, the Sports Promotions office and Cavalier Sports Marketing walk a fine line to incorporate them into the contest.
"We want to increase the game experience without overshadowing the rest of the event," Rader said.
An example of this are "ThunderStix," which spread the name of their sponsor, "State Farm Insurance," while at the same time giving the fans something with which to distract opposing offenses.
Besides the sponsorship side of business, the Sports Promotions office staff also handles events such as the fan punt return and the halftime shows.
When people leave Scott Stadium, Rader doesn't want them to think of the football game as just any other Saturday afternoon.
"We have to be very good at making the game more than just a football game." Rader said. "We try to make it a memorable experience for everyone that comes to the game."
'Hoos on 'Hoo Vision?
Everyone who's been to a Cavalier football game has watched the big screen. Who doesn't love the "Cav Man" sequence or 60-second countdown?It is the people who do the work behind the scenes for 'Hoo Vision that get the Cavalier fans pumped up for the game.
The two people who head up the production of 'Hoo Vision are Todd Goodale and Erik Elvgren. Goodale is the Creative Director for Cavalier Sports Marketing, and Elvgren is the Senior Producer/Animator for U.Va. Athletics Video Services.
A major component of 'Hoo Vision is the creation of the Cav Man video. Cav Man skits are written during the summer by Goodale and Elvgren. After scripting, Elvgren storyboards each episode by making pencil drawings of the scenes from the skit. Then all of the footage without Cav Man is filmed.
Next, Elvgren models Cav Man so he can be digitally animated into the clip.Once added to the scene, Cav Man moves by way of a computer, which draws the frames to create the animation. The production of Cav Man for the Troy State game has been the most difficult episode to produce yet with one scene involving four moving characters.
The rendered animations of Cav Man are combined with the filmed sequences to create the full scene. Then Goodale edits all the clips together and adds music and sound effects.
Goodale and Elvgren also create the video clips that are shown on the big screen and ribbon boards (the long video screens between the upper and lower levels). These include player intros and updates of Virginia teams.
During the game, there is a crew of 20 people who run 'Hoo Vision. Goodale is the Executive Producer, the man in charge, and Elvgren is the Director, who decides which camera shots to go to during the game. In addition to the cameramen, there are people who put up statistics and scores and others who create replays and highlights. Everyone stays in sync through headsets. It's a huge process involving extensive coordination.
Despite the effort that is involved, the two producers love their jobs.
"It's like putting on a mini-live TV production," said Elvgren. "It's a great rush. It's as fun for the people in the stands as it is for me."
Goodale echoed Elvgren's sentiment.
"This job takes a great amount of time and energy during the football season," Goodale said. "I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't love it."
On Saturday, when Cav Man is fighting against the Troy State mascot, you can now appreciate what goes on behind the scenes to produce 'Hoo Vision.
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