Ball State Students got in on March Madness by producing a social media series for the NCAA Women’s Basketball championship called “Tourney Watch.”

The students were all members of Ball State Sports Link, an immersive learning program that has become a national leader in teaching sports media and production.

“Tourney Watch” was an ESPN-like studio show with guest spots featuring familiar faces from ESPN, such as Adam Amin, Maria Taylor, and Holly Rowe. It is produced entirely by Ball State students. It ran over 12 days, starting on March 22.

Freshman Faith Denig of Jeffersonville served as lead director. She is a telecommunications major. Denig previously directed the broadcasts of two ESPN3 and ESPN+ field hockey, women’s basketball, and men’s volleyball games.

Tourney Watch was streamed live on Facebook and Twitter on @ncaawbb, and was picked up by the Bleacher Report, ESPNW and the NCAA’s websites.

As lead director, Denig oversaw the student team while also creating game highlight clips plus other content for the series, which had thousands of followers.

Denig’s just a freshman, and now she’s powered up for more.

“Ball State has empowered me to do whatever I can to be prepared for an exciting job in the future,” she said. “With hands-on programs like Sports Link, the courses, faculty and student peers that have motivated me, I’m ready for success in the sports arena — right now and long-term. I can’t wait to keep building.”