Alum
Eric Shanks
CEO and executive producer of FOX Sports
Eric Shanks, BA'94
"I picked IU, honestly, because I tried to walk on to the football team. I could have probably played football at smaller schools. But I really wanted to try to play here. And it became pretty evident very quickly that I was not up for it for a lot of reasons: speed, size, and strength being probably three of the biggest.
I ended up getting a job in the athletic department, which is a fantastic opportunity working in the media relations department. Chuck Crabb, who was the PA announcer here at Assembly Hall for years, is from my hometown. Chuck introduced me to the athletic department, so I was a working student really from day one.
The Media School, when I was here, didn't have the prestige or the focus that it has today. It was very hands-on, which was great, and being able to work at the PBS stations, being able to work at the radio stations, and the film study classes, were all amazing. But being able to take all of the classes, learning and mixing it with what was happening in the athletic department as well as some of the professional people that were coming in from CBS or ESPN, it was really kind of like the chocolate and the peanut butter kind of going together, to form perfect opportunities for me.
I wasn't sure that sports television would be the thing that I ended up landing in. I loved making documentaries here, I made a lot of student-led documentaries, and I love storytelling, cinematography, and movies. The film studies classes really opened my eyes to storytelling and the elements that go into storytelling and then how you would eventually merge that with live television.
Ron Osgood was here at the time. Barry Zimmerman, I think, who ran the department. And Walter Gantz, he was in advertising, but just always around. So those three, I think, were kind of like the Mount Rushmore of Indiana media for me at the time.
I was probably working and doing projects as much, if not more, as when I was in class. There's a more defined funnel or pipeline, because everything is just more evolved than it was when I was in school. And there's much more support here, you've got Galen [Clavio] here.
The worst thing that anybody can do is just see an opportunity online, just reply to it, hit send, and just wait. You've got to advocate for yourself. You've got to be present, you've got to be in-person, and you've got to go make relationships.
I always say, we're not doctors or lawyers. We don't just have this predetermined path of classes that we have to take. It's a creative endeavor. And honestly, it's a human endeavor. You have to go make these relationships and create your own involvement.”
Written By Olivia Smith
Photos By Olivia Smith