UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jim Nachtman, Penn State assistant athletic director for media and production, has been selected to receive the 2016 Sports Video Group (SVG) College Sports Summit Pioneer Award.
A member of the Penn State Athletics staff since 1999, Nachtman will be honored June 2 at the SVG College Sports Summit at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta.
The SVG College Sports Summit Pioneer Award celebrates those who have innovated in the fields of video production and technology at the university level and have advanced the industry at large.“I want to thank everyone at SVG College for this humbling recognition,” Nachtman said. “There are many other colleagues across the nation who are more deserving than I am. I’ve been blessed to work at an institution in Penn State that has provided me an opportunity where for 25 years I have been able to work with people that share a common passion, purpose and belief that, together, we can do great things and make a positive impact for alumni, fans, coaches, staff and, most importantly, our student-athletes.”Nachtman graduated from Penn State in 1990 with a telecommunications degree and spent a decade serving as technical director of Penn State Public Broadcasting. He joined Penn State Athletics in 1999 as director of broadcast operations. In March 2015, he was promoted to assistant athletic director of media and video production.“We are so pleased for Jim to receive this tremendous recognition from his peers across the country,” said Tom McGrath, associate AD for business relations. “His dedication to Penn State and our teams in getting the best and broadest distribution of our events to a very dedicated and passionate fan base is his focus each and every day. In addition to his video production work, he has been an incredible mentor to a number of young students looking to make a career in this industry.”Nachtman’s primary areas of responsibility include Penn State athletic event in-house video production, video services for all 31 Nittany Lion sports programs, coordination of selected radio broadcasts and webstreams and the Penn State Coaches Show, assisting network television with athletic event coverage and special events, and BTN StudentU. telecasts.“Jim is technically brilliant and incredibly innovative,” said Brandon Costa, director of SVG College. “The industry has changed so dramatically in the past two decades and Jim — always with his finger on the pulse — has kept Penn State, the Big Ten Conference, and friends in the college video community ahead of the curve. It’s that willingness to share ideas and best practices with the industry that makes him such a fitting choice for this honor.”Nachtman played a pivotal role for Penn State in the conference-wide implementation of the Big Ten Network prior to its launch in August 2007. He also was instrumental in the technological infrastructure within the Pegula Ice Arena, the University’s state-of-the-art ice hockey facility that opened its doors in October 2013. In addition, he helped oversee the installation of two video boards in Beaver Stadium in 2014 — one of which ranks as the seventh largest video board in a college football facility.Nachtman, who has been an active member of the Sports Video Group and the SVG College Advisory Committee since their inceptions, lives in State College with his wife, Tina, and their three children, Sarah, Katie and Robert.The SVG College Sports Summit Pioneer Award has been presented since 2012 and is selected by a panel of past Pioneer Award honorees, current and former SVG College Sports Summit chairmen, SVG staff and senior members of the SVG College Advisory Committee.