Everyone knows about the double life a student athlete lives in college. How they find the time to balance their academic and athletic obligations is a question only they really know the answer to. In the journalism field, however, those obligations have their advantages.
Bendu Yeaney is a standout junior on the IU women’s basketball team who spends her time off the court differently than most. Majoring in sports media, you can find Yeaney in the Media School working both in front of and behind a camera–a career she plans to pursue after her collegiate basketball career ends.
“What inspired me to start doing media stuff is just because I saw things on social media with different students doing different videos or recording different athletes or things like that,” Yeaney said. “I thought that’d be really interesting and something I wanted to do.”
Interview with IU junior Bendu Yeaney.
Yeaney certainly is not first athlete to transition into a career in sports media after their athletic career. What is remarkable, however, is that she even has a teammate who is doing the exact same thing she is.
Danielle Patterson is also a junior on the team who transferred to IU from Notre Dame this year. Originally pursuing sports management, her interests changed after she took a broadcasting class and realized that was something she wanted to pursue for a career. She also thinks being an athlete gives her an in-depth understanding of the game that gives her an advantage in the field.
“I think it makes it easier just to broadcast and report on [coaches and teammates],” Patterson said. “Because you know them on a personal level rather than just interviewing them for five minutes, walking away and saying, ‘well, now I have to go write a story or I have to broadcast on this.'”
Interview with IU junior Danielle Patterson.
Getting to know athletes is an integral part of understanding the human side of sports–which often is how journalists are able to tell the most compelling stories. For people like Yeaney and Patterson, they are in the best possible position to get to know their fellow athletes and tell their stories from a whole new perspective.
This also means they know exactly what to ask during interviews. Patterson highlighted the importance of having an extensive knowledge of the sport you are covering since it creates new opportunities to inform the audience. Whether that is on TV or in an article, you can rely on students like Yeaney and Patterson to keep the average basketball fan intrigued with their insight into the game.
While many athletes in college leave their sport behind after they graduate, Yeaney and Patterson are taking a route that allows them to stay connected to the game in an entirely new way. Even if they do eventually miss playing, for them, it really is the best of both worlds.
