For the third consecutive year, University of North Dakota students are playing a major role in producing live television broadcasts on FOX Sports North and FOX College Sports.

The final volleyball production was last week and the basketball production schedule announced last week adds another eight broadcasts to the schedule in 2016-17.

UND students gain real-world production experience at various positions on the production crew, ranging from camera operator to audio technician. The experience of producing live television for regional and national networks is valuable when students graduate and are looking for employment.

About a dozen UND students are mixed in with UND staff and a few professional production freelancers to provide exposure to the UND volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball programs.

With the announcement of the 2016-17 basketball schedule, UND students will have produced 42 live events for FOX Sports North and FOX College Sports over the last three years. Each production includes a non-athletics-related feature about the University produced by the UND's Division of University and Public Affairs to use athletics' platform to help promote the university as a whole.

"This collaboration is a win-win-win for everyone," said UND Director of Athletics Brian Faison. "UND students benefit from having a hands-on experience in producing live television broadcasts, it provides exceptional regional and national exposure for UND Athletics, and it provides a broadcast platform to promote the good things happening at the University of North Dakota."

UND Athletics and FOX Sports North formed a relationship in the summer of 2014. Working with UND Aerospace Networks and academic departments makes this a tremendous campus partnership. Two UND graduates and current UND Athletics employees, assistant athletic director for digital media and video production Matt Schill and video production coordinator David Folske, play important roles in the production.