Chris Ostien, Senior Producer/Director, Mountaineer Sports Network
Chris Ostien has been a member of the WVU staff since 1997 and has been serving in his current capacity as Senior Producer / Director for the Mountaineer Sports Network since October 2007.
His current duties include Segment Producer for Mountaineer Magazine and Mountaineer Jammin’, but his main focus is on producing the video board and LCD board content for football at Milan Puskar Stadium, and at the WVU Coliseum, which is home to WVU men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastics.
Ostien also led the development of utilizing WVU student workers, in association with the Pearly Isaac Reed School of Journalism, for all live video board productions at the WVU Coliseum.
The North Apollo, Pa. native began his career as the afternoon news anchor for WCCS 1160-AM in Indiana, Pa. Ostien moved to Morgantown, WVÂ in 1997 to work as a production assistant with WVU Radio and Television services. In 2003 Ostien was promoted to Producer/Director with WVU Television Productions.
For the past 10 years, Ostien has also worked as a freelance tape & EVS operator. He was worked for all major networks on a wide variety of live-sports productions. He mostly enjoys the ones that involve his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ostien graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in radio and television. He was inducted into the CUTV Hall of Fame in 1999.
Ostien resides in Westover, WVÂ with his wife, Jenny, and their son, Alex.
Julie Kindinger, Production Coordinator, Old Dominion University
Julie Kindinger has worked as the A/V Production Coordinator for The Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University since July of 2007. Her position is provided by Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Comcast Spectacor, LP.  Julie began her career immediately following her graduation from Elon University with a B.A. in Broadcast Communications and a B.S in Leisure/Sport Management.
Julie’s role at The Ted Constant Center is an all-encompassing one. She oversees all aspects of the in-house audio and video production department that produces ODU Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Wrestling, and other arena sporting events. She was an integral member of the team that built the sparkling new A/V presentations of Old Dominion Football as the university re-established that program in 2009.  This included an HD upgrade of a centrally located control room that operates both the Ted Constant Center and the new football stadium, restructuring of the staff, and selecting a production company to assist with upgraded video content and animations. Additionally, Julie produces events that visit The Ted Constant Center such as The Harlem Globetrotters, Women’s NCAA Tournament games, Professional Indoor Sand Volleyball, Professional Wrestling, graduations, symposiums, and Old Dominion University events. She coordinates part-time staff, freelance A/V workers, and student interns during all of these productions.
Prior to her experience at The Ted Constant Center, Julie worked with NBC at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, The Ohio State University Video Board department, and helped to create the coaches’ scouting video department for Elon University.
Julie was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, graduated from Elon University in North Carolina and has been a resident of Norfolk, Virginia since the summer of 2007.
Tim Lynde, VP Television, ISP Sports
Tim joined the ISP team as Vice President of Television in June 2008. In this position, he oversees all television and video operations, including negotiating television agreements, the development of new programming and working with properties to ensure product consistency. He will also play a role in exploring and developing new media opportunities as they present themselves.
Prior to joining ISP, Tim worked for such prominent organizations such as The Home Depot, The Coca-Cola Company, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and the NCAA.
Tim earned a B.A. in History from Wake Forest University and a M.S. in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee. He also wrote and self-published Sponsorships 101 – An Insider’s Guide to Sponsorships in Corporate America.
Michael Martin, Professor, Film Television Digital Media Department, TCU
Mike Martin joined the TCU community in 1996 as the Director of Athletic Video Services. His department was responsible for producing video content for many of the Horned Frog sports teams, with an emphasis on football. For his efforts, he received the Collegiate Sports Video Association’s Bob Matey National Video Coordinator of the Year Award in 2001.
Martin joined TCU’s Film-Television-Digital Media Department as a full-time faculty member in the fall of 2008, after serving two years as an adjunct professor. Martin is responsible for teaching the department’s sports broadcasting classes, which generates content that airs on The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network. This includes numerous TCU volleyball, baseball, and basketball games.
Prior to TCU, Martin worked as an Athletic Video Production Specialist at the University of Oklahoma. He is also a co-founder of the Collegiate Sports Video Association, a national organization promoting the role of video coordinators at universities. In addition, he served three terms on the CSVA Executive Board.
Mark Silverman, President, Big Ten Network
Mark Silverman was named the first president of Big Ten Network in December 2006. Silverman creates the network’s strategic direction, leads the day-to-day operations and reports to its Board of Directors. The network is dedicated exclusively to the Big Ten Conference and is headquartered in Chicago.
Silverman has guided the Big Ten Network to profitability within two years of being on the air. Additionally, the network has achieved its distribution goals, and is available to approximately 75 million homes throughout the country. With the increased exposure for the Big Ten, as well as the network’s financial contributions to the conference, the network has changed the collegiate sports television landscape.
Under Silverman’s leadership, the Big Ten Network has added top national advertisers, including Nissan, Infiniti, State Farm, Hampton, Buffalo Wild Wings, Ro*Tel, Auto-Owners Insurance and the U.S. Marine Corps, and top national talent, such as Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis, Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Dave Revsine.
The Big Ten Network’s portfolio extends beyond the traditional linear network with extensive new media offerings in the areas of broadband and video-on-demand (VOD). The Big Ten Network has expanded its domestic and international streaming initiative in 2009-10, making an additional 200 events available through its fee-based streaming service on www.BigTenNetwork.com. These events, such as volleyball, wrestling, baseball, softball, women’s basketball and non-conference men’s basketball, would not otherwise receive television coverage. The enhanced quality of this streaming product promises to rival any other streaming source in delivery and quality. In addition, the network is one of the most prolific providers of VOD content to Comcast and Time Warner
Shortly after its August 2007 launch, the network made a name for itself by achieving two major milestones, airing 95 percent of its 400 live events in high definition, the most HD content of any other new channel in history, and becoming the first network in history to reach 30 million households within 30 days from its launch.
Prior to joining Big Ten Network, Silverman served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the ABC Cable Networks Group. In this role, Silverman was a board member and represented the Company’s interests in Lifetime, A&E, and History Channel. Silverman also previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, ABC Family Channel, where he was responsible for channel operations and the development of its business strategy, with emphasis on ad sales, business affairs, business development and finance.
Silverman began his media career in the entertainment industry at The Walt Disney Company, where he held a number of executive positions during his eight-year tenure, principally in the television and movie studio divisions.
Before rejoining Disney, Silverman served as Vice President of Planning and Development, ABC Inc. In this position he led the planning functions for the ABC Television Network, ABC-owned television stations, ABC Cable Group, ABC Radio, ESPN and Buena Vista Television and was responsible for improving the financial performance of the group, evaluating new cable channels, analyzing potential strategic acquisitions, and integrating operations.
Prior to his tenure at ABC, Silverman developed and launched ESPN Zone, where he served as General Manager and led all key analysis and negotiations, including real estate and sponsorship deals. Additional career accomplishments include serving as Vice President of Finance and Planning at The Walt Disney Studios, a group that included theatrical, home video, network television, cable television and online. Responsibilities consisted of managing business development, finance, planning and special projects within the studio, including the studio’s strategic five-year plan and annual operating plans.
Silverman played a key role in the acquisition of Miramax Films, helped expand the development of several international Disney Channels, and led all new business initiatives within the studio. Prior to joining the studio planning group, Silverman worked within the theatrical marketing department to evaluate new opportunities to market and distribute films cost effectively.
Prior to his experiences at Disney, Silverman worked in business development for NBC and at Arthur Young & Co, where he was a Certified Public Accountant.
Silverman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan. Silverman currently resides in Chicago with his wife and two children.
Jon Rubin, Assistant Director of Electronic Media, University of Florida Athletic Association
Jon Rubin has worked for the athletic department at Florida since August 2004, just a few months after he graduated with a B.S. in Telecommunications (Production) from the university. In his role as Assistant Director of Electronic Media, he oversees the development and distribution of live and on-demand video content for the program’s official website, GatorZone.com; helps manage various other content for GatorZone.com and the school’s social networking presence on the Web; produces the weekly highlight show for men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan, which airs on several regional cable networks in the southeast; helps handle footage requests for network partners and production companies; and helps with the always-popular “other duties as assigned.”
Since its implementation by the conference in 2005, Jon has also served as the SEC Instant Replay Technician for all Florida football home games, as well as the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville in each of those seasons. As part of his work for the SEC, Jon also served as the Replay Technician at the 2006 Fiesta Bowl and 2007 Orange Bowl games.
Jon was born in Columbus, Ohio, moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 1989, and has been a resident of Gainesville since the fall of 2000.
Collin Pillow, Studio Supervisor, Arkansas State University
Collin Pillow is in his 12th year as instructor and studio supervisor in the Radio-TV Department at Arkansas State University. In that capacity, Pillow teaches classes in audio/video production and new media while also serving as executive producer for all Arkansas State home football and men’s and women’s basketball games.
Pillow oversees a student staff responsible for producing content on the university’s stadium and arena video screens while also recording each game for playback on the university’s cable channel. His duties also include supervising a student production team to produce weekly TV programs for the football and men’s basketball head coaches.
Pillow previously served on Radio-TV faculties at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.
Prior to teaching, Pillow was a director and videographer for television stations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and worked numerous freelance sports events throughout the southern United States.
Pillow has a B.S. In Radio-TV and M.S.M.C. In Mass Communications from Arkansas State University.
Jeff Bentley, Executive Producer, Kent State Sports Network
A graduate of Indiana University, Jeff Bentley has spent 19 years working in sports production. He has served as an independent contractor with networks such as ABC Sports, ESPN, and Fox, and has spent four years working in university communications and marketing at Kent State University in Ohio.
For the past five years, Bentley has served as the executive producer of the Kent State Sports Network, overseeing all productions at the growing network.
Walter Raps, CTO, CBS College Sports Network
A senior technology executive with more than 25 years of experience in Broadcast Engineering and IT, Walter Raps has managed many complex projects with successful results. Utilizing the latest technologies to maximize efficiencies and realize ROI, he has built systems and workflows that are now standard for the creation and delivery of digital video and audio. His passion for keeping current with technological advancements allows him to address existing challenges and recognize new business opportunities.
While Raps makes a living keeping up with technology, more importantly, he enjoys it.
Richard Kilwien, Associate Athletic Director, Communications, University of Washington
Richard Kilwien joined the University of Washington Athletics Staff in May of 2006 as Associate Director of Athletics for Communications.
Kilwien is responsible for managing the department’s communications unit and implementing a media and public relations strategy for Husky athletics. He also oversees the development of the UW’s official athletic website, serves as the liaison to the department’s multi-media partners (ISP Sports, CBSSports.com & FSN Northwest), and serves as the department’s primary spokesperson.
Prior to Washington, Kilwien spent six years at Santa Clara University and spearheaded the formation of the external services area, tying media relations and marketing functions into one unit and reorganizing all corporate sales efforts. He also expanded the department’s official athletic Website, radio network, and publishing agreements and expanded the department’s merchandise sales program.
Kilwien came to Santa Clara following a stint in marketing and communications at the FANSonly Network (now CBSSports.com College Network), the largest college sports network of official athletic Websites on the Internet.
Prior to FANSonly, Kilwien served as the assistant director of athletics for media relations at his alma mater, Texas Tech. While a member of the Red Raider athletic staff, he conducted a successful campaign to promote Byron Hanspard for the Dr Pepper Doak Walker Award and sixth-place finish in the voting for the prestigious Heisman Trophy. Kilwien also was responsible for serving as a liaison with the department’s marketing group and was the primary spokesperson during a comprehensive NCAA investigation. He also was instrumental in launching the department’s first Internet Website in August, 1996, and designing the media operations areas in the $62 million United Spirit Arena.
Following his graduation from Texas Tech in 1988, Kilwien began his career in college athletics as an intern and media relations assistant at the University of Houston. From 1990-92, Kilwien served as an assistant director of sports information at Duke University before spending two years as an assistant director of media relations at the (now-defunct) Southwest Conference. Following the dissolution of the SWC, Kilwien spent two years as director of media relations and promotions at Raycom Sports in Charlotte, N.C.
Kilwien married the former Karen Yee, a standout college basketball player at Houston, in December of 1990. The couple has a son, Preston.
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