Sports Information staff adds Lehman, Wagner as interns

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech Sports Information staff has added a pair of interns for 2012-13, bringing in recent graduates Mike Lehman from Northern Illinois University and Matt Wagner from Western Kentucky University.

The duo joins a media relations operation that handles publicity and promotion for all of Tech’s 14 intercollegiate sports, including the official Athletics website, TTUsports.com, which has drawn nearly 80 million hits in the past year.

The newest additions to the staff will work with Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information and Broadcasting Rob Schabert. They join interns Brandon Goodwin and Erin Bean in completing the staff.  

Wagner, 22, will play a key role in the department’s expanding video production area. A 2011 Western Kentucky University graduate, he will help produce all of the live web streaming, coach’s shows, and a wide variety of video features and special projects. His position began at Tech on July 20.

His position will utilize both his creative abilities and his technical knowledge. He will work in designing sports programming, promos and creative pieces for Tech athletics, as well as production of all Golden Eagle Athletics video and audio content for the OVC Digital Network, TTUsports.com and social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. He will serve as assistant producer of The Watson Brown Show.

Wagner will also serve as the primary contact for the Tech men’s tennis team, and assist in the promotion of all 14 Golden Eagle teams.

Wagner graduated from WKU with Summa Cum Laude honors and Bachelor of Arts degree in Television and Film production, with a minor in English. A Danville, Ky. resident, Wagner has worked on film sets, television sets, and sports productions ranging from Lexington, Ky. to Los Angeles.

Lehman, 22, began his internship on August 1. A 2012 Northern Illinois graduate, Lehman joins the Golden Eagle staff following two years as a student worker for the NIU office. He is from East Dundee, Ill., in the Chicago area.

Lehman will serve as the primary contact for the Golden Eagle soccer, men’s basketball and baseball teams, and work with many of the other 11 Tech teams. He will also be heavily involved in providing daily updates on the website, producing department publications and a variety of social media projects.

While at Northern Illinois, Lehman spent two years with the Huskies’ sports information office and held several responsibilities over that time. After gaining experience his first year, he was kept on for a special summer project of reformatting the record books for several of the Huskies’ 16 sports. Lehman earned new duties in his second year, including leading the statistics crew for basketball and assisting with volleyball. He was also the secondary contact for women’s tennis and was chosen to design the 2012 MAC Women’s Tennis Championship program.

During his time with the Huskies, NIU was honored as a 2011 “Super 11” sport information department by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), which recognizes the best 11 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) departments in the nation during the season. Lehman compiled statistics for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Boy’s Basketball Super Sectionals his final year and also worked three MAC Championship events during his time at NIU, including Track & Field, Gymnastics, and Women’s Tennis.

While at Northern Illinois, Lehman was a member of the prestigious co-ed professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. He spent four years as a brother, including three as the fraternity’s Sports Chair. His duties included running all athletic events and teams for the fraternity. During his time as Sports Chair, the fraternity boasted two intramural championship teams, including the 2012 Co-Ed 16” Softball champions.