Mariesha Gibson Prioritizes Communication In Her Role As Big Ten Network Production Manager For Ohio State

The biggest thing with being the liaison between Big Ten Network and Ohio State Athletics is communication. I have to make sure I am clearly communicated with everyone.

Mariesha Gibson

BTN Production Manager

Ohio State University, Department of Athletics

5Also, your role entails being the liaison between the Big Ten Network and Ohio State Athletics. How do you ensure everything the Big Ten Network asks for is fulfilled by Ohio State? What is your method to delegating tasks, staying organized and working under pressure?

The biggest thing with being the liaison between Big Ten Network and Ohio State Athletics is communication. I have to make sure I am clearly communicated with everyone. Through simple communication I am able to fulfill most, if not all, everything BTN asks for.

Of course, there are times where things simply cannot happen, but I just make sure I clearly communicate why a certain request cannot be fulfilled.

As far as staying organizing, every year I buy a planner and always write down anything important in my planner. Whether it’s an interview, press conference, sporting event, etc. I always write it down in my planner. There is something about physically writing things down that helps me stay organized.

Working in sports, you’re always under some sort of pressure. Especially when working in sports media. You never know if your equipment will malfunction or you never when a breaking news situation may occur that causes you to go and shoot a last-minute press conference.

However, one thing I always do is to remain calm. I try not to let situations stress me out because if allow situations to stress me out I won’t be able to think clearly.

I also make sure I plan, plan, plan! I learned the hard way one time when I did not do enough planning, but I learned from that incident and now I plan, plan, plan!

6In production, you broadcast all Ohio State sports, edit videos, write, create content in multiple formats, oversee students — how important is it to be versatile in the sports industry?

I would say it’s pretty important to be versatile in the sports industry because it creates more opportunities for you.

However, it’s okay to have some weak spots, but where you are weak is where you have to take the necessary steps to become stronger. Whether that’s reaching out to others who are strong in the area in which you are weak or finding conferences that will help you grow in those weak areas or just simply doing your research.

There is never a time where you won’t stop learning, but you have to be willing to want to continue to learn so that you can be more versatile and grow and go wherever you want in the sports industry.

7Finally, what advice do you have for those looking to find their passion and pursue it with everything they have, particularly angled towards the sport industry?

The advice I would give is to take every opportunity given to you. Take both the paid and unpaid internships. You want to simply get your foot in the door and use those opportunities to make a lasting impression.

Find you a mentor in the industry that can walk with you and help guide you in the direction you want to go. I was blessed to have such an amazing mentor of my own, which you guys interviewed as well and her name is Stacy Kelleher. Without her mentorship, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I would also say to be patient and don’t get frustrated when the opportunities you want don’t present itself right away. Speaking from experience, I thought I would be where I am today right after college, but that did not happen. However, I never gave up and I took those small opportunities that led to bigger opportunities which led to me being the Ohio State BTN Production Manager.

This may sound a little cheesy, but you have to “trust the process” and I did not realize that saying was true until I had to go through my own process to get to where I am today, which is working for a Powe