New Britain, Conn. – What began as a bold and uncertain idea in 1979 has grown into one of the most influential forces in sports media. That story of innovation and entrepreneurship will take center stage at Central Connecticut State University, as students and community members are invited to explore how ESPN transformed the way the world consumes sports at the ESPN Innovation & Entrepreneurism Panel on Wednesday, April 29.
ESPN, which launched on Sept. 7, 1979, in Bristol, revolutionized sports. Thanks to an entrepreneurial spirit and out-of-the-box thinking by founder Bill Rasmussen, the network created a 24/7 media ecosystem, transforming how fans consume sports.
A panel of ESPN trailblazers will discuss how one bold idea ignited a global sports revolution, and how the network has continued to innovate by making sports more accessible, engaging and culturally pervasive.
The panelists are Mike Soltys, ESPN historian and 44-year ESPN veteran; Carol Stiff, former VP of Women’s Sports Programming at ESPN; and Gary Striewski, ESPN SportsCenter anchor.
Aimee Crawford, the Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication spoke highly of the panelists and was grateful to get them to come to Central.
“All three are trailblazers, and we felt that they could bring unique perspectives to how the network has continued to innovate by making sports more accessible, engaging and culturally pervasive,” she said.
This event is hosted by Crawford and the New Britain Institute, in conjunction with community partners Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, Inc. and the Consolidated School District of New Britain.
Crawford described what she hopes people will get out of the panel.
“I hope that people learn more of the story behind how ESPN revolutionized sports, and how it has continued to innovate by increasing coverage of women’s sports, and by focusing on digital, streaming and social media,” she said.
She added that they will show a sneak peek of a new documentary at the event.
“We will show a clip of the new ESPN documentary at the event. I hope that people will be inspired by a story of success and innovation that happened right here in Connecticut, and that they will return to see a screening of the full documentary at our Central Sports Film Festival on May 7,” she said.
The ESPN Innovation & Entrepreneurism Panel will begin at 5 p.m. in Lecture Hall 102 at the Applied Innovation Hub. The event is open to students, faculty, and members of the community. Parking will be available in the Student Center lot.
