Sponsored by:
The Verne Lundquist Sports Media Institute of the Headliners Foundation of Texas
Presented by:
School of Journalism and Media
The Center for Sports Communication & Media
Summer 2025 program details are now available!
Registration opens January 1
Registration deadline: June 1
Aspiring high-school sports journalists — in words, images, sound or video — spend an intensive, hands-on four days at the University of Texas at Austin in the company of decorated professionals from print, television and online platforms. Campers can anticipate a tour of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and other athletic facilities, a mock press conference with UT student-athletes, a full day of engaging presentations from established sports journalists, and one-on-one coaching from faculty at the School of Journalism and Media on original, independent projects (assigned at orientation). Ready to see how the pros cover everything from junior soccer to the World Cup? Game on.
Check-in: Monday June 23, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Check-out: Thursday June 26, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Ages: 15-18 (Grades 10 - 12)
Cost: $695*
*Price includes all meals and overnight stay in a double-occupancy dormitory room.
Questions? Email us at journalism@austin.utexas.edu
Welcome from Program Directors Ali Forbes & Kevin Robbins
Hello, sports fans!
We’re eager to welcome 80 students from high schools in Texas and beyond to the Verne Lundquist Sports Media Camp at the University of Texas at Austin.
About our camp: Participants spend nearly four days on campus with me and our counselors, who are students of our School of Journalism and Media. We participate in a mock press conference with Longhorn coaches and athletes in Belmont Hall. We take a guided, all-access tour of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (including some time on the football field and press box). We introduce campers to experienced sports-media veterans, who conduct intensive and practical sessions with them about their professional work.
With noted Michigan State University artist-in-residence Mike Castellucci, campers learn to build high-quality iPhone stories — something they can take home with them; share with their family, teachers and friends; and include in their portfolios. We essentially spend our entire time learning and doing real-world sports journalism (well, when we’re not playing sports trivia, eating cookies from Insomnia or ice cream from Amy’s, taking a supervised night-time tour of campus or having a pizza party with a published sports-book author, that is).
We say about the University of Texas that what starts here changes the world. We build our sports camp to change a life.
About Ali Forbes: I’m a professor of practice who teaches courses in live sports broadcasting and sports production. Before transitioning into academia, I built my career in live sports broadcasting, where I gained firsthand experience in the power of storytelling through sports. My passion for teaching is deeply rooted in the mentorship I received as a young athlete, inspiring me to help guide and shape the next generation of students. At Moody College of Communication, I’m excited to contribute to developing a minor in sports production and broadcasting, fostering hands-on learning experiences that prepare students for dynamic careers in the field.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Brock University, an honors degree in communication from the University of Ottawa, a post-graduate diploma in sports journalism from Loyalist College, a master’s degree in sport and fitness management from Troy University, and a doctorate in journalism and mass communication from Arizona State University.
Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, music, cooking, and spending time with my family, friends and my dogs.
About Kevin Robbins: I’m a professor of practice since 2012 who teaches our upper-division skills courses in sports journalism. I was a reporter myself for 22 years, and I’ve written five non-fiction sports books. I still do freelance journalism about professional golf when I’m not playing amateur golf. I also serve as the associate director of the Moody College of Communication’s Center for Sports Communication and Media, which is a sponsor of our camp. I live in nearby Dripping Springs with my wife of 34 years and our son, studying at Austin Community College. Our daughter is a graduate in the fiction-writing program at the University of Iowa. I enjoy watching, reading about and learning about sports of all kinds — from fencing to fishing to football.
We hope to see you this summer on our beautiful campus in Austin. Can I tell you more? You can always email us.
Hook ‘em!
The Headliners Foundation of Texas
The Headliners Foundation’s mission is to promote excellence in journalism by providing scholarships to student journalists; recognizing and rewarding outstanding work in professional journalists; and supporting special projects that promote journalistic excellence and preserve history.
About Verne Lundquist
Retired television broadcaster Verne Lundquist covered major sporting events for more than 50 years.
He began his career at KTBC-TV in Austin, then owned by Lady Bird and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Lundquist worked nationally for ABC Sports from 1974 to 1981, for CBS from 1982 to 1995 and for TNT from 1995 to 1997, before returning to CBS from 1998 to 2016. He spent a decade-plus as the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys, and covered everything from the NFL, NBA and Olympics to college football, basketball and even the game show “Bowling for Dollars.” He was lead play-by-play announcer for SEC football on CBS from 2000 to 2016, before retiring from college football broadcasting. He broadcast from the Masters Tournament for 40 years before retiring in 2024.
Lundquist’s book, Play by Play, was published in 2018 by HarperCollins. In an endorsement, former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban said that Lundquist “is a timeless storyteller with a unique ability to make fans feel like they are sitting right next to him watching history” and the “soundtrack for so many moments in sports history.”
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