Colorado Buffaloes Football: Historic Emmy Win For Video Department Shows Exciting Times Ahead

It’s still the offseason in college football, but wins are still being racked up by the Colorado Buffaloes football program.

The director of sports video, Jamie Guy, and assistant director John Snelson from CU’s football video department were awarded with an Emmy from the Heartland chapter on July 12. Their work on a recruiting piece called “Seasons” earned the CU Football staff the unprecedented award.

The almost 12-minute video was shot in a documentary style, and captures the Colorado football program throughout head coach Mike MacIntyre‘s first season along with celebrated moments from the past. The two-man team took almost an entire year to create the video, mastering the quality to perfection.

SEASONS from CU Football Video on Vimeo.

When the 2014 Heartland Emmy nominations were announced for the “Sports — One-time special” category, the CU Sports video department was up against KTUL-TV from Tulsa, Okla, for their piece about the high school Heisman called “2013 Ford Award.” Though no easy task, going up a major TV news station was something that Guy and Snelson welcomed.

The Emmy win for the Buffs is not only a first for them, but a first in the history of college football. Many production teams from schools  have won the award in the past, but never before has the football staff of a university received an Emmy. The high level of recognition is something that is  becoming more common for athletic programs.

The recruiting piece was inspired by a film called “Life Cycles” that features a bike used as a life metaphor in different stages. The difficult part of making “Seasons” was the staff had to get the shots needed within the first take due to the documentary production style. Coach MacIntyre was in attendance when Guy and Snelson received the award.

The next project for the football video at CU was summed up by Guy and Snelson as “College Football is the greatest game in the world and we want to show that visually through the University of Colorado” There are major differences coming for the Buffs and it’s going to be exciting times in Boulder.

Jeff Hauser is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @radiohauser.