Downstairs in Elon University’s McEwen School of Communications, the office of Max Negin, assistant professor of communications, is tucked away out of the spotlight. Negin prefers to settle behind the scenes. He has, in fact, done so throughout his entire career.
As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, rather than aspiring to become involved with journalism, Negin dreamed of becoming the middle linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. Like most young men who realize that their skills lie in places other than the NFL, Negin took his talents elsewhere but still stay true to his passion.
Negin decided to pursue sports broadcasting as a way to work with something that he loved. As an undergraduate student at Rowen University in New Jersey, Negin embarked on a career in sports broadcasting.
That career has taken him to a number of places, even the worldwide stage. In 2008, Negin was called to work with sports broadcasters from all around the world to be a media manager, or, as he calls it, “a traffic cop for video files,” for the Beijing Olympic Games.
Negin discovered a whole new level of sports broadcasting. Cutting edge technology, A-list talent and minimum 12-hour workdays brought out the best in the skills Negin had to offer. He earned an Emmy, his fourth in total, for his work in the London Games two years ago.
Inspired by his experiences with the Olympics and everything he learned there, Negin embarked on his teaching career. He eventually became Professor Negin after getting a job at Elon University in 2010.
He’s incorporated many of the things he learned in the professional world to his classroom environment.
“Whatever class you’re in, look left, look right. Look for connections,” Negin said. “You never know which one of them will get you a job one day.”
When he stands in front of his classes, he brings with him a plethora of experience in the field of sports broadcasting. Not long after earning a degree in communications from Rowen, Negin landed a job at ESPN. P
Prior to earning that position, Negin was up late at night calling 30 or more people to ask for jobs in camera work.
All it took was one “yes” for him to get hired at Baur Visual — a job Negin said was “better than Chili’s,” his former employer. Somewhat overwhelmed with the new technology surrounding him, Negin approached work with a “fake it ‘till you make it” outlook, a skill he still teaches his students today.
At this time in 1996, ESPNews made its debut. Negin worked with equipment for the Philadelphia Phillies, eventually working his way to his ultimate dream job: working full-time for his hometown team.
Around five years after his graduation, Negin became the video coordinator for the Phillies after switching over to Comcast Sports, which had just opened for business at the time.
Working behind the scenes and traveling with the Phillies to all 162 of their baseball games, Negin learned all the tricks of the trade in his industry.
“Sit in a chair [for 162 games], you’ll get good at something,” he said.
But working nearly every day took a toll on Negin, and he decided to settle down and work mostly as a freelancer for local networks as a tape operator before taking the teaching job at Elon.
Wanting to give his students a competitive edge once they graduate, Negin teamed up with Marc Zumoff, the play-by-play broadcaster for the Philadelphia 76ers, to create a sports broadcasting book titled “Total Sportscasting” that covers the performance and technical sides of the industry.
The whole idea of everything conjoining as “one unit” like a sports team is very similar to what goes on in a sports broadcast and precisely what Negin wants his students to learn. The new book is required reading for Negin’s Sports Broadcasting class.
Negin strives to enrich his students on every aspect that goes in the process of delivering a sports broadcast. This is a process that senior Natalie Beach said is valuable in her learning experience at Elon. Beach works with Negin on Elon Phoenix Weekly, a student-run television production that Negin advises, and is currently taking his Sports Broadcasting class.
“I’ve learned a lot from Max about more than just sports. I’ve learned how to work with people and get the best out of them. He’s also taught me a lot about creating content worthy of being on a television screen,” Beach said. “Max is a lot of fun to work with, but he sets a high standard and is never going to let us get away with mediocre quality on EPW, and I think it shows in our finished product.”
Although Negin has typically stayed behind-the-scenes throughout his career in the sports broadcasting industry, he stands out among his students at Elon. His passion for teaching is evident with the experiences he has developed throughout his lifetime.
Whether it’s freelancing for a professional sports team, being a media manager in the Olympics or teaching groups of college students, Negin strives to create a “team” aspect of making something special.