Broadcasting, K-StateHD.TV & Video Services

K-StateHD.TV

An Emmy and Silver Telly award winning service, K-StateHD.TV is a high-definition digital network providing K-State a world-wide connection for athletic and academic endeavors. Viewers get more than 1,000 Wildcat videos a year at no cost, including commercial free on-demand viewing of every football game and all home men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, volleyball, and baseball games within 72 hours of event. Established in 2011, K-StateHD.TV teams Kansas State University staff and students with K-State Athletics’ staff to produce around 100 live events each year for Big 12 Conference distribution partners, notably ABC/ESPN.

Broadcasting & K-StateHD.TV Full-Time Staff

Wyatt Thompson

Senior Director of Sportscasting and Voice of the Wildcats
A seven-time NSMA Kansas Sportscaster of the Year(3rd-most in state of Kansas history), Thompson has served as K-State’s lead radio play-by-play announcer for football and men’s basketball since 2002; serves as host of the Chris Klieman(FB) and Jerome Tang(MBB) weekly shows; also appears at numerous public relations events and speaking engagements as a representative of K-State Athletics; serves as the departmental liaison to K-State Sports Network radio affiliates and fans; honored with the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hod Humiston Award in 2011, as Oscar Stauffer Kansas Sportscaster of the Year in 1989, and inducted into the KAB Hall of Fame in 2022.

Brian Smoller

Senior Director of Broadcast Services
A 15-time KAB award winner and 2003 Oscar Stauffer Kansas Sportscaster of the Year, Smoller serves as the lead announcer/host for K-StateHD.TV programming including in-house broadcast live event productions for ESPN coverage of soccer, volleyball, women’s basketball, and baseball and the Jeff Mittie(WBB) and Ask the A.D. shows; also serves as K-State’s radio play-by-play announcer for women’s basketball and baseball; serves as the principal liaison between the Emmy-award winning K-State Athletics (KSA) video department and outside entities while overseeing staff and budget; coordinates on-air TV/radio talent and video production for K-State live events; assists in the editing and production of departmental audio/video requests, including writing and narration of voice-overs and scripts.

Andy Liebsch

Senior Director of Video Services
Oversees hiring, training, scheduling, and evaluation of crew members for K-StateHD.TV; serves as the principal producer/director for K-State video board, K-StateHD.TV, and/or in-house live event productions for ESPN coverage of football, volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and baseball; serves as the principal liaison between the video department and KSA/on-campus departments and sports; schedules video projects for K-State video staff and student workers; oversees the hiring, training, and evaluation of student interns/workers for the Emmy-award winning KSA video department.

Will Rizza

Assistant Director of Video Services
Serves as producer/director or other crew fill-in positions for K-State video board and/or in-house live event productions for ESPN coverage of football, volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball, soccer, and baseball; also assists in the training and assigning of K-State video board and/or in-house live event production crews for ESPN productions; also provides camera work, editing, and production for video projects as assigned by the Senior Director of Broadcast Video Services and/or Senior Director of Video Services for various K-State Athletics departments and sports, media, and/or outside entities requests.

Preston Koerner

Video Producer
Lead video editor/producer for K-State football and baseball as well as Ask the A.D. show; provides video productions and camera work for K-State video board, K-StateHD.TV, K-State Athletics’ social media platforms, and/or in-house live event productions for ESPN coverage of football, volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball, soccer, and baseball; also provides camera work, editing, and production for video projects as assigned by the Senior Director of Broadcast Services and/or Senior Director of Video Services for various K-State Athletics departments and sports, media, and/or outside entities requests.

Cameron Bradley

Video Producer
Lead video editor/producer for K-State men's basketball and other KSA department requests; provides video production and camera work for K-State video board, K-StateHD.TV, K-State Athletics’ social media platforms, and/or in-house live event productions for ESPN coverage of football, volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball, soccer, and baseball; also provides camera work, editing, and production for video projects as assigned by the Senior Director of Broadcast Services and/or Senior Director of Video Services for various K-State Athletics departments and sports, media, and/or outside entities requests.

Alex Karbach

Production Specialist
Provides video production and camera work for K-State video board and/or in-house live event productions for ESPN coverage of football, volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball, soccer, and baseball; also provides camera work, editing, and production for video projects as assigned by the Senior Director of Broadcast Services and/or Senior Director of Video Services for various K-State Athletics departments and sports, media, and/or outside entities requests.

K-StateHD.TV Student Staff

K-StateHD.TV relies on student assistants in every aspect of live event production and in the production of its many hours of shoulder programming. In addition to the production crew, the following students commit time to work in the office during the week and, in some cases, travel with their respective team assignment. Students interested in becoming members of our crew can apply here.

Many K-State HD.TV student assistants have moved on to jobs in collegiate and professional sports. Recently, the K-State Alumni Association featured Dylan Lierz, class of 2019, who now works at ESPN as a Media Replay Operator. You can read the full K-State Alumni Association story on Dylan here. The current 2022-23 student-assistant staff is listed below.

“This was an undeniably priceless experience that had a major impact on me and a massive reason for why I am at ESPN,” he said. “The connections I made working for the athletic department spread to jobs at WIBW, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals and freelance gigs down the line.” (Dylan Lierz)

K-StateHD.TV 2024-25 Student Assistants

Lauryn Betts (Tape Librarian)
Payton Breese (Women's Basketball Assistant Editor)
Calen Domingues (Tennis)
Luke Fabrizius (Men's/Women's Golf)
Lizzy Franco (Women's Basketball)
Cooper Hight (Volleyball)
JT Lilak (FLOW)
Parker McGowan (FLOW)
Brooklyn Mlekus (Soccer)
Lizzie Schaefer (Rowing)
Austin Schultz (Cross Country/Track & Field)
Christian Wright (Volleyball Assistant Editor)

Work With Us

K-StateHD.TV employs a number of students in a variety of roles, including student video producers and digital asset managers who also serve in vital roles as members of the live video production crew. To apply for K-StateHD.TV student positions, visit the application below or call (785) 532-2703 for more information.

Crew Application

Notable Moments

K-StateHD.TV has been a pioneering endeavor and successful joint venture between the athletics department and university, offering increased exposure for the K-State Wildcats and educational opportunities for K-State students.

March 23, 2012
Became the first Big 12 school-specific network to be distributed nationally (via Fox College Sports) with first of nine K-State BSB games.
August 2012
Signed a third-tier distribution deal with FOX for KSHDTV live production of VB, WBB, BSB events and over 50 coach/magazine shows, to be shown on FS-Midwest, FS-Kansas City, and Fox College Sports.
September 2014
Signed with Cox Channel Kansas for annual distribution of 15 additional KSHDTV live productions of VB, WBB, BSB events and over 20 more coach/magazine shows.
September 2015
Signed with ESPN3 for annual distribution of 30 additional KSHDTV live productions of VB, WBB, and BSB events.
August 2017
Signed with ESPN3 for annual distribution of 20 additional KSHDTV live productions of FB, SOC, VB, WBB, and BSB events.
July 2019
Joined the Big 12's third-tier digital network, Big 12 Now on ESPN+, for annual distribution of 70+ KSHDTV live productions of FB, MBB, SOC, VB, WBB, and BSB events.
Fall 2022
Became one of only two schools in the Big 12 providing in-house co-productions for linear ESPN MBB, VB, and WBB events (ESPNU/ESPN2).
January 2025
Became the first school to host a CBS Sports Network on-campus linear production.

Fun Facts

- For live event production, KSHDTV utilizes full-time staff of Powercat Vision office (five) and a pool of 80 freelancers and/or Kansas State University undergraduate students (75% students).

- In 2013, added a $1.7 million dollar control room in West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium (FB), fibered to Bramlage Coliseum (MBB/WBB), Tointon Family Stadium (BSB), and in 2016 to K-State Soccer Stadium (WSOC).

- In 2014, amassed seven awards at the SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards, most by any school in the Big 12.

- In 2018, won four silver Telly Awards competing against Disney, Warner Bros, and NFL/MLB teams among others.

- In 2019, became the first school-specific network in Big 12 history to be nominated for three Regional Emmys and the first to ever win a Regional Emmy

- In 2019, became the first all-female broadcast team in a women’s basketball match-up with UT Arlington on Nov. 24, with all 16 positions filled by women.

- In 2023, completed a multi-million dollar renovation creating an outside television/streaming production control room and enhanced student training center in the West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium (FB) and a video board production control room in Morgan Family Arena (VB).

Kansas State University Athletics

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