News Story

For students interested in pursuing a career in sports media, there’s nothing quite like getting hands-on experience than covering a professional sporting event. Which is exactly what lecturer Mike Wells’ Advanced Sports Lab class is helping students accomplish.

Wells developed and started teaching the class spring semester of 2024 where students covered the NBA All-Star game. This fall, his students were fully credentialed as journalists and attended Indy Eleven games and Indianapolis Colts games throughout the semester.

When at the games, the students are graded on three things: their ability to market themselves and network with other reporters, a game story with a two-hour turnaround, and a feature story that they write after the game.

In addition to field-side reporting, Wells sends his students breaking news for them to write a story whenever something of note occurs.

“I [would] get the quotes and then I would just forward them to them,” Wells explained. “There were a lot of quarterback issues with the Colts this year, and they knew that if something happened to be prepared. A lot of Wednesdays, which is a big day in the NFL, media-wise, stuff would happen, and I’d say ‘Hey, all right, I’ll send you the quotes, I need the story in by midnight.’”

“So while technically the class was from 11:30 to 12:45 on Mondays and Wednesdays, they knew that if something happened, they had to work off of it. It is real life because this is a 24/7 job.”

“It got to the point that some of the students started cracking jokes. As soon as they saw something happen on social media, breaking news, they’d send me a text and say, ‘So, we’re writing off this, huh?’ I never wanted them to be comfortable and think that it only happened in class. Or it happened at the stadium. If there was breaking news, I said, ‘Alright, let’s go, write off of it.’”

Wells understands how crucial it is to have as much hands-on experience as going into a sports reporting career and strives to empower students to know what it takes to be successful once they graduate. Before working as a lecturer at The Media School, Wells worked with ESPN as the Indianapolis Colts’ NFL Nation reporter. His experience in the sports media industry helped inspire Wells to develop this course.

“I graduated a long, long, long time ago and I went in thinking that the job industry was going to be one way, and the job was going to be one way, and it turned out to be the polar opposite. So now with the challenges that these students face when they graduate to get jobs, I want them to be as prepared as possible,” Wells said.

“I want potential employers to look at their resumes and say, ‘Oh my goodness, this student has done X, Y, and Z. Not only have they covered IU football or men’s and women’s basketball, they’ve actually had an opportunity to cover NFL games, NBA games, minor league sports games.’”

Media School senior Ari Betterly works as co-director for the Hoosier Network and is taking Wells’ Sports Lab class.

“I knew I wanted to take Mike Wells’ class last fall when I heard about his All-Star class last spring and the great, enriching experiences his students had. I also had taken Sports Writing and Reporting and Sports Media and Society with Wells, and at this point had him as a mentor and someone who would help me often improve as a student,” Betterly said.

Betterly also believes that taking this course will help her future career in sports media and make her a more multifaceted reporter.

“Mike Wells has prepared us as his students to be able to cover professional sporting events, interview players and coaches, write articles under a deadline, and communicate effectively in networking environments. I feel more than prepared now to step into the real world and handle myself in professional environments. I also have seen myself grow so much as a writer and a person,” Betterly said.