From the NFL to the NCAA, Live Sports Technical Director Teri Rozic ‘98 has paved the way for women at the network level

Teri Rozic’s life is a busy one, spent jumping from one major sporting event to the next, while breaking the glass ceiling for women in live network sports production. Rozic, who graduated with a telecommunications video production degree from Ohio University in 1998, just finished working on the CBS production crew for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

"Most people have no idea of how much hard work goes into live sports television and that is especially true for the Super Bowl. I spent 12 days in Vegas, often working from sunup to well past sundown, to help make sure everything was working and ready to go for the big show. The Super Bowl has grown to an enormous size and the technology is always changing so there are always new challenges. We are always trying to push the envelope and innovate how the game is covered,” said Rozic. 

Now Rozic’s taking a short minute to catch her breath before hopping on a plane to work as a technical director during the NCAA Basketball Tournament next month.

“I will work March Madness through the Elite 8 and then go home for a day, before heading to Augusta, Georgia for the 2024 Masters,” said Rozic with a laugh. “Then I just keep going until the NFL starts back up again.”

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Even though she’s always busy, Rozic says she is grateful for a career doing what she loves where she still has fun. It’s a career that she says wouldn’t have been possible without the opportunities provided at Ohio University.

“Growing up near Philadelphia, I got started in the video club at my school in the fifth grade, and I just kept trying and doing things,” said Rozic. “By the time I got out of high school, I knew that I wanted to study video production in college.”

Rozic did her research and put Ohio University on her short list of colleges. After visiting campus for the first time, Ohio University wasn’t on her short list anymore. It was the only college remaining.

“I fell in love with Ohio University when we first drove on the campus,” said Rozic. “And the more research I did, I realized that Ohio University was a big enough school that it had opportunity but not too big that I couldn’t get my hands on anything.”

Upon arriving in Athens, Rozic got her hands on the opportunities as quickly as she could. She worked at WOUB Public Media, the journalism school’s ACTV-7 News as well as Athens Video Works. Rozic took advantage of every chance to try something new, learn and grow.

“At WOUB, I started off running teleprompter. I worked my way up to doing audio, running camera and working master control. Then I directed WOUB TV’s “NewsWatch.” My senior year I was offered a paid position doing scheduling for all the students. Wherever there was an opportunity, I was ready to try it.”

Rozic had no fear when it came to trying new things. When WOUB was awarded a grant to replace old directing equipment, she was the only student who asked to be trained on the new technology. 

“It looked like a cool toy, so I asked to learn how to use it,” said Rozic. “I was trained along with the WOUB engineers. Then I developed a training program to help other students learn it.”

Rozic’s willingness to try anything got her the opportunity to work with the university and technical direct Ohio University football and basketball games that aired on television.

“After doing that, I knew I had found the chair that I wanted to sit in for the rest of my career.”

After Rozic graduated in 1998, she moved to Pittsburgh to work as a freelancer.

“I gave myself a year to see if I could make it as a sports freelancer,” said Rozic. “I’ve been a freelancer ever since.”

But, breaking into the world of live sports production as a woman was not easy.

“I had a harder time being a technical director than I did in college. It is a very male-dominated field. Coming in trying to work in professional sports, I had people working against me. You have to be twice as good to be considered just as good. I had to prove myself every step of the way.”

Rozic did just that and paved the way for the women who have come after her. At the network level, Rozic was the first female technical director for The Masters, the first female technical director for the Olympic Men’s Gold Medal Hockey Game, the first female technical director for the NFL AFC Championship Game and the first female technical director for the Super Bowl. Rozic has also won five Emmy Awards.

“I do feel like it is getting better for women in sports,” said Rozic. “I leaned into those who were supportive and kept going forward. The only way I’ve gotten to where I’ve been is because of so much hard work.”

Rozic also had the opportunity to work with Film Director Francis Ford Coppola on a passion project of his to do live productions of films.

“It was one of the biggest challenges for me, both personally and professionally, but it was amazing.”

When Rozic has a minute to slow down and reflect on the place where it all started, she says she knew instantly that Ohio University was going to change her life.

“The first time I drove on campus, I saw opportunity, and I saw that Ohio University was the place where I was going to figure out the rest of my life. I figured out my career path in Athens. I met my husband in Athens. It is an important place for me.”

Rozic and her husband, Tony, have been married for nearly 25 years.

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