On a gray Saturday afternoon during Homecoming weekend, Tufts students crowded into tightly packed bleachers in a showing of school spirit that some may consider uncharacteristic. Those familiar with the sports culture at Tufts understand that this kind of high attendance at sporting events is the exception to the rule.
While Tufts athletics may not enjoy the kind of notoriety or diehard following that can be found at large Division I state schools with massive student bodies and deep athletics budgets, Jumbocast, Tufts' sportscasting student group, strives to make athletic games more accessible to students, parents and alumni both on and off campus.
Founded in 2001 by Steve Clay (LA '90), who wrote for the Daily and was the sports director on WMFO, Jumbocast was one of the first sportscasting groups in the New England Small College Athletic Conference and has since been influential in broadcasting at many other schools in the conference, according to senior and General Manager of Jumbocast Michael Roubey. Covering 11 different sports across three seasons, Roubey said that Jumbocast works with advanced audiovisual equipment and in conjunction with student commentators to create a high quality video available for live or archived streaming.
Unlike most NESCAC sportscasting programs, which are deeply rooted within their own athletic departments, Jumbocast is a student organization with no formal affiliation with the Athletics Department, according to Roubey.
Eliza Halmo, a member of the women's lacrosse team, said that this connection is actually beneficial to the organization.
I think it's definitely looked well upon and it's nice that we're independent of the athletics department," Halmo, a senior, said.
Jumbocast does, however, work in coordination with the Tufts athletic department to broadcast games and also uses a webcasting infrastructure that Tufts' Information Technology Services built, which is based on technology from RealNetworks, Inc., a software company.
One of the most unique aspects of Jumbocast as a student organization is that it pays its members for working as commentators. While the pay may be modest, it provides an incentive for members who have to give up large stretches of weekend hours to report.
Roubey explained that those working with broadcasting for the group are enthusiastic about the job, but not because of the pay.
"Our money isn't enough to survive on, so no one is coming to Jumbocast just to get paid," Roubey said.
Funded by the Tufts Community Union Treasury, Jumbocast does not limit its services to just sports
