Asbury Alum Brings Home a Sports Emmy

June 10, 2021

Ty Schadt was a senior at Asbury University when he wrote a piece as an intern for NFL Films, and this week his hard work was recognized with a prestigious Sports Emmy. The 2020 graduate, with a double major in journalism and media communications and an emphasis in TV/Video production, was recognized for his Outstanding Writing — Long Form on the “The Lumberman Quarterback.”

“Winning this award is an unbelievable honor that wouldn’t have been remotely possible without the help of many talented people working alongside me,” he said. “I always thought it to be true, but this recognition only strengthens my belief that I’m in the right spot, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and I’ve done the right things to get to this point. 

Schadt reflected on his time at Asbury, and how it shaped him as his career begins to take off. 

“One thing that’s always stuck with me from my time as an Asbury student is something Professor D.T. Slouffman said in his Sports Storytelling class,” Schadt said. “He said, ‘Writing is the bedrock of storytelling.’ The more I’ve grown as a storyteller, the more I see how right he was.”

Schadt’s writing beat out the likes of HBO’s Hard Knocks and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. Currently, Schadt lives in New Jersey working for NFL Films as a production assistant. He also interns on the weekends for Kentucky Sports Radio.

“We are extremely proud of Ty. It is an incredible feat for a student to write a story that receives a national Sports Emmy,” said Dr. Jim Owens, dean of the School of Communication Arts & Professor of Media Communication. “While Ty worked incredibly hard on his schoolwork and his internship with NFL Films, it is still amazing that a student competed with other high-end professionals and won this award. Ty was able to write a story that won over full-time professional writers at sports networks across the nation.”

Schadt’s work with the NFL came out of an assignment by Dr. Owens at Asbury. 

“I was in a seminar class with Dr. Owens the spring of my junior year, and he gave us an assignment to research 10 places we might like to work,” he recalled. “When I searched NFL Films on Google, a link to an internship application popped up. I decided to throw my hat in the ring, and after a couple rounds of interviews ended up getting offered a spot during the Fall of 2019. It lasted the entire NFL season, so I returned to Asbury in February of 2020 to finish out my degree, and that’s when I wrote the Lumberman piece. It’s about Josh McCown and was inspired by ‘Good Timber,’ a poem by Douglas Malloch, who was nicknamed the Lumberman’s Poet.”

Schadt’s story was inspired by McCown’s NFL career and the imagery in the poem. The piece focuses on former NFL quarterback Josh McCown and his unusual first-ever postseason outing with the Philadelphia Eagles at 40 years old.

“So I weaved the two together in an essay and sent it to some of my contacts from NFL Films,” Schadt explained. “They liked the idea enough to produce it as a short feature during the 2020 season, and when I returned to the company as a production assistant earlier this spring, I learned it was nominated for the long form writing Emmy award.”

During his time at Asbury, Schadt said he drew inspiration from his professors in the School of Communication. 

“Dr. Doug Walker was an incredible mentor who always pushed me to challenge myself and broaden my horizons every day,” he said. “Professor Richard Manieri helped me develop myself immensely as a storyteller. If it weren’t for the incredible efforts of Dr. Owens, Sarah Hogencamp, Heather Hornbeak, David Whitaker, and so many professors at Asbury during my senior year, I wouldn’t have been able to move away and complete the internship at NFL Films, while still staying on track to graduate in 2020. If I wouldn’t have been able to do that internship, I certainly wouldn’t have been in a position to accept an Emmy award like I was earlier this week. And for that, I am eternally grateful.”

Watch “The Lumberman Quarterback” on NFL Films and read more at Kentucky Sports Radio.