Elon professor helps bring March Madness to television audiences  

Assistant Professor Max Negin recently worked as an ESPN replay operator for several NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament contests, including the Greensboro Region final from March 27-29, 2015.

Assistant Professor Max Negin spent a portion of his spring break serving as an ESPN replay operator.
Assistant Professor Max Negin spent a portion of his spring break serving as an ESPN replay operator.[/caption]​Max Negin, an assistant professor in Elon University’s School of Communications, served as an ESPN replay operator for several NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament contests held in Chapel Hill and Greensboro. In addition to assisting producers and directors coordinate and roll replays during the games, Negin supported pre-production before the contests’ tip-offs.

Negin worked ESPN’s March 21 and 23 telecasts in Chapel Hill, as well as the channel’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 Regional Finals coverage in Greensboro on March 27 and 29. All the contests appeared on ESPN and ESPN2.

“First of all, it was a fun way to spend my spring break,” Negin said. “For me, the great benefit of working these events is to be able to connect my teaching, and thus students, to professional settings. Working alongside veteran television producers and crew, I am able to observe and participate in a national telecast. The lessons learned about covering the game, in addition to the wide range of decisions and issues that crop up during the weekend, are pieces of information that you cannot get any other way.”

Whether the production is running smoothly or there are fires to put out, the experience is always beneficial, said professor. “I am always listening and observing,” Negin said. “And, as a nice little perk, I get to watch some great college basketball teams.”

Negin is a four-time Emmy Award winner, who has worked as an editor, writer and producer for NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN, HBO and Comcast SportsNet. He’s also worked as a digital media manager for NBC’s Olympics coverage four times: Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012 and Sochi in 2014.

He advises “Elon Phoenix Weekly,” a show that covers Elon athletics and airs Saturday mornings on ESPN2, and teaches courses such as “Sports Broadcasting,” “Sports and Media,” and “Creating Multimedia Content.”

Philadelphia 76ers play-by-play voice Marc Zumoff and Negin co-authored “Total Sportscasting: Performance, Production, and Career Development,” highlighting the technical side of sports broadcasting. Focal Press published the book in 2014.