For the first time ever, ESPN will be the official broadcaster of Special Olympics World Games, and a Penn State graduate has been part of the team in the partnership that made coverage of the 2015 games in Los Angeles possible.
The World Games in Los Angeles begin July 25, and the nine-day event will be the largest sports and humanitarian event of this year, consisting of 25 sports and about 7,000 athletes from 177 countries.
Mandy Murphy, who earned her advertising/public relations degree in 2002, oversees the global partnership between ESPN and Special Olympics.
“The fact that our Special Olympics athletes are going to be featured by the Worldwide Leader in Sports on live, national television beginning July 25 is just unbelievable,” said Murphy. “It’s amazing to be a part of it, and I’m so humbled and proud to be able to work not only with Special Olympics but also with such brilliant and really smart and fun people at ESPN. It’s an awesome and deserved awareness opportunity for our athletes.”
Murphy serves as the sole account director for ESPN at Special Olympics. ESPN, a longtime partner of the organization, will broadcast the opening ceremony live July 25. The ceremony will be co-hosted by ABC’s Robin Roberts, as well as ESPN’s Lindsey Czarniak and Kevin Negandhi. Coverage throughout the event will air on ESPN, ABC or ESPN2.
In addition to Murphy’s involvement with Special Olympics, Penn State graduates Amanda Gifford (2004, education and journalism) and Ryan Hockensmith (2001, journalism) participated in the partnership on behalf of ESPN. Gifford, the coordinating producer/senior director of ESPN’s “Mike & Mike,” assisted with the involvement of Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg in the Unified Relay leading up to the World Games. Hockensmith, senior editor at ESPN, has been editing and assigning stories for ESPN.com relating to Special Olympics.
Originally a senior manager of media and public awareness for Special Olympics, Murphy joined the organization in 2009. As the partnership grew, Murphy transitioned from overseeing all of Special Olympics’ media contacts and was chosen to become the first account manager for ESPN and the Special Olympics in 2013. She is the day-to-day liaison between Special Olympics and ESPN for the company’s support of both the World Games and the Special Olympics Unified Sports program, which bring together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.
Travel is a must for Murphy, who makes the roughly 330-mile trip from her office at the Special Olympics international headquarters in Washington, D.C., to her office at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, on a regular basis. She has a unique position within the Special Olympics organization and travel is nothing new for the Devon, Pennsylvania, native.
Coming out of Penn State, Murphy got a job as a public relations manager for AND1 Basketball. There, she traveled to numerous cities around the world as she was overseeing public relations for the AND1 Mix Tape Tour, which was featured on an ESPN television series showcasing street basketball players.
After several years with AND1, she moved on to Reebok as an associate public relations manager and later became the global public relations manager in 2008.
In 2009, Murphy put her career on hold and spent four months traveling the world with her younger brother, who was a recent cancer survivor. Together, the two visited nine countries and covered more than 30,000 miles, participating in volunteer work along the way.
Upon her return, Murphy started with Special Olympics -- her first time working for a nonprofit. She admits it was different, but it was even more rewarding.
“After so many years of promoting products and working with professional athletes, it was humbling to get the opportunity to promote the most inspiring athletes in the world,” said Murphy. “Working for a nonprofit versus a for-profit definitely has its challenges, but the passion for the cause makes it worth it. I love being able to use my career to show how sports can help change the world.”
In addition to full-time efforts overseeing the relationship with ESPN, she also spends personal time volunteering locally with Special Olympics D.C., playing and coaching Unified Sports. There are opportunities to get involved with Special Olympics locally in communities across the world, including at Penn State, which hosted the 46th annual Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games in early June.
The World Games don’t start until July 25, but the activities have already begun and Murphy is in constant preparation. May 26 marked the start of the first-ever Unified Relay Across America, with three relays carrying the Flame of Hope hitting every state over a 46-day span. All three routes converged in Los Angeles on July 10. The relay has been showcased by ESPN and ABC, including live coverage on “Good Morning America” and “SportsCenter.”
For Special Olympics and ESPN, the partnership will continue beyond the World Games. On June 1, ESPN announced an extension to continue to support the Special Olympics Unified Sports program.
“On an international front and long term, World Games are great, but what most people probably fail to realize about Special Olympics is that we’re not just once every two years,” said Murphy. “The majority of what we do is day-to-day programming in local communities across the world. A large majority of what we do is grassroots. ESPN’s support of Unified Sports helps us to do that. Grants, research, communications and all of those kinds of day-to-day efforts with the ESPN Corporate Citizenship team, it helps sustain us and provide lasting impact in addition to the awareness that is brought forth through things like World Games this summer.”
Murphy strongly encourages Penn Staters to watch the event on July 25 and to volunteer in Special Olympics in their local communities, whether it be coaching, playing Unified Sports or just coming out to cheer on the athletes.