UD Students Use Passion For Sports To Create A Unique Online Platform
James Walton
Contributing Writer
Sports play a major role in students’ lives at the University of Dayton. Whether it is college sports, professional sports or club sports on campus, students at UD are passionate about sports. However, a few UD students took their passion to another level.
Jakob Rosati and Braden Wagle are both junior sport management majors at the University of Dayton. Last December, Rosati and Wagle were walking to class when an idea to showcase their knowledge and passion for sports came about. Rosati asked Wagle if he would be interested in creating a sports blog, and Wagle was interested. From that point, they created the Redshirt Review sports blog.
The Redshirt Review covers a wide variety of sports. From the four major sports leagues and the NCAA, to Major League Soccer and golf. Over the course of five months, the blog has reached over 45,000 viewers from seven countries. In order to produce timely content and keep up to date with sporting events, there are 13 writers including Rosati and Wagle as chief editors.
Brandon Hall, a UD student and follower of the blog, was excited to share his favorite post about Zion Williamson.
“The blog really captures a college student’s perspective on sports,” Hall said. “The story on Zion Williamson’s is a great example, and one of my favorites, because of how raw the content is for a player who is constantly being evaluated by not only social media and blogs but also NBA greats themselves.”
Rosati had more to say on this point.
“Anyone who has a passion for sports and is willing to write about them should join our team,” Rosati said. “I have friends from Illinois University, Ohio State University, and obviously the University of Dayton, who write for the blog.”
There are many components to keeping the blog up to date, and it is not an easy job.
“Although there are many writers to produce content, it gets very stressful when you have to stay on top of them to make sure they are posting content,” Rosati said.
Rosati and Wagle find situations like this to be an opportunity to gain professional skills. A significant benefit in creating the Redshirt Review is gaining skills that will put them at an advantage when applying for internships and jobs.
“Outside of the blog, I work for the Athletics Communication office here at UD, writing press releases for men’s basketball and a few other UD sports,” Wagle said. “As a chief editor, I have gained skills in working in a fast paced environment, leadership, writing and much more.”
In addition, Rosati wants to pursue a career in event marketing.
“I believe that the skills I gain from marketing our blog on social media will help me be more qualified for a marketing job in the future.”
Dr. Haozhou Pu, assistant sports management professor at the University of Dayton, is a fan of the Redshirt Review. He has knowledge of sports media as he earned his doctorate in sports management at Florida State University.
“I prefer to look at blogs because they are fan-ran media unlike sports journalism,” Pu said. “Sports blogs and social media are the new way of covering sports, but it is about lifestyle as well, not just sports. The Redshirt Review does an awesome job at keeping up with what players and teams are doing when they are not playing in a game.”
The Redshirt review is run by college students who want to get their opinions on sports out to the public.
“These platforms allow fans to openly convey their opinions and create discussions and sometimes arguments over things like Michael Jordan vs. Lebron James,” Pu said.
Rosati and Wagle have taken on a new perspective in sports. They have created a platform that does not only allow them to do what they love, but also benefits them in a professional way as they come closer to graduating in May 2020.
You can check out the Red Shirt Review online at www.redshirtreview.com and/or follow their social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Logo courtesy of redshirtreview.com