University of Miami Students Win at 44th College Television Awards

Eleven students from the University of Miami won the Sports award at the Television Academy Foundation’s 44th College Television Awards. The Foundation’s annual awards show recognizes and rewards excellence in student-produced programs from colleges nationwide. Winners in the competition were announced by television stars at the red-carpet awards ceremony on April 5 at the Television Academy in North Hollywood, California.

NBA Today host Malika Andrews presented the award to the winning team in the Sports category for SportsDesk, UMTV’s 30-minute, live weekly sports show covering Miami Hurricanes athletics. The winning episode, which aired on March 29, 2024, featured a pitching lesson from Canes pitcher Rafe Schlesinger; an interview with the former women's basketball head coach Katie Meier following her retirement; and a story on the Karen Peterson Dancers, an organization created over 30 years ago as a space for inclusive dance and dancers with disabilities.

The University of Miami students who worked on the winning project are Morgan Champey (producer), Delanie Haddad (director/producer), Taryn Jacobs (producer), Wrigley Kordt (writer), Jake Baum (writer), Andrew Klein (producer/writer), Mia Housman (writer), Derryl Barnes (producer), Annie Watson (producer), Billie Brightman (producer) and Jadyn Cohee (writer).

Designed to emulate the Emmy Awards, student entries are judged by Television Academy members. Criteria for the College Television Awards reflect industry standards of excellence, imagination and innovation.