The landscape of college athletics is an ever evolving thing with schools and conferences always looking to stay at the forefront of that landscape. The use of technology and the ability to broadcast events online has become a recent trend allowing more schools than ever to increase their visibility online. Despite the number of events that are produced every day, one school has found a way to stand out among the rest.

Mercer University has become one of the leading schools at the FCS level in production of live events. The Bears, who many remember for their run through the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 2014 that included an upset win over Duke, have strived to produce events of the highest quality possible.

The school invested more than $150,000 to upgrade Mercer’s production facilities with the goal of producing ESPN3 quality broadcasts on their own. It was undertaking that recently came to fruition in a big way.

On Thursday, August 28, 2014, Mercer hosted Reinhardt in its first football game as a member of the Southern Conference. The game was broadcast on ESPN3 and, with its new broadcast studio, Mercer was able to produce the game on its own, without the need of an ESPN3 production truck.

The event marked the first time a college or university self-produced a football game for ESPN3.

Colleges and universities are constantly looking for ways to gain more exposure and ESPN3 has been available to provide just that.  The online network is now accessible in over 92 million households, which includes access to 21 million college students.

Mercer is in a great position to lead the conference, especially with the recent launch of the SoCon Digital Network. In its inaugural year, the SoCon Digital Network will feature more than 400 live events, as well as highlights, interviews and student-athlete profiles.

Mercer plans to stay at the forefront in order to provide the best product for their fans and hopefully be a great example for others to follow.