The men and women’s opportunity to host the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament is not the only honor Ashland has this basketball season.

The Journalism and Digital Media Department is bringing Fox Sports Ohio and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Director Dan Sevic to direct the production of the men and women’s GLIAC basketball tournament.

Since 1995, Sevic has been working with AU’s Operations Manager John Skrada. The two are co-owners of S&S Productions, which produces high school and small college sporting events for a regional sports television network.

Having the opportunity to work with both Sevic and Skrada as a Journalism and Digital Media major provides opportunities and experiences that many college students do not have throughout their four years at a university.

“Ashland JDM has staff who have done this before so you students already have a good base and know what it takes to pull off live television, in particular, sports,” said Sevic. “So when I come in to work with you guys, it makes it easier for me to teach and show you things that I know about live television.”

Skrada believes bringing Sevic to Ashland will help the students adapt and work with the different directing personalities that they will be confronted with in the professional world.

“I want to bring someone different in because I do not want you to think that the way I direct is the only way of doing it,” said Skrada. “I want you guys to be able to listen to a different voice. Dan and I could not direct a game more differently at times.”

Sevic has been coming to Ashland to help direct both football and basketball productions for the past few years outside of his professional career with the NBA and MLB.

“I truly enjoy helping people who want to learn about this business and make a career of it,” said Sevic.

Senior JDM major Colleen Rimmel had the opportunity to work alongside Sevic on Thursday night during the quarterfinal games of the GLIAC tournament as the Eagle women faced Northern Michigan and the men faced Grand Valley State.

“It has been such a great experience especially because I am working with someone new and someone who has had such amazing experiences,” said Rimmel. “I feel like I have learned so much even after only working with him for two productions.”

Sevic has been directing the Cavaliers’ television production for six years and has also worked the Cavaliers’ NBA Finals in their playoff runs in 2007 and 2015.

Basketball is not the only professional sports experience Sevic has. He also had directed the television productions of the Cleveland Indians along with the team’s World Series runs in 1996 and 1997.

Sevic will continue working with the Indians this summer, as he is scheduled to direct 40 Tribe games in the 2016 season.

Any career in media poses its own set of challenges and the most common challenge Sevic deals with on a daily basis is the constant change in technology.

“The technology changes so fast and almost daily there is something new,” said Sevic. “If you quit learning and understanding how all the pieces of equipment work around you, you will become outdated like the equipment.”

Sevic will be working with the AU students throughout the entire GLIAC tournament and will return to Ashland to direct the home football games for the 2016 fall season.