ESPN’s traveling college pregame show gave several students opportunities to gain professional experience.

Senior Annika Alves, left, with ESPN media specialist Julie McKay, right, on the set of ESPN “College GameDay.” Alves volunteered to help guide reporters, videographers and photographers during the live broadcast on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Annika Alves.

By Robert C. Jones Jr.
9-23-2025
This story originally appeared in News@TheU.

From the day Annika Alves could walk, her parents put a soccer ball at her feet and encouraged her to embrace sports.

The University of Miami senior didn’t grow up to become the next Mia Hamm. But she found her calling in another area of sports: broadcasting.

On Saturday, when ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast live from the Coral Gables Campus, Alves upped her game, shadowing and assisting one of the network’s media specialists, Julie McKay, as she issued press credentials and fielded questions from reporters.

“It’s been an unreal experience,” Alves said Saturday between issuing a press pass and giving directions to a photographer. “I’m realizing how high-pressured and high-paced this industry can be.”

As a senior in the School of Communication and host of “The Huddle,” a UMTV SportsDesk podcast, Alves already has extensive experience in sports broadcasting. On the day before “College GameDay,” she interviewed ESPN GameDay analyst and former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard for the podcast, asking him what Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck needs to do to improve his chances of winning the award that goes to college football’s top player.

ESPN media specialist Julie McKay talks with Annika Alves, a senior at the School of Communication who volunteered for the sports network on Saturday. Photo: Robert C. Jones/University of Miami

“I would love to work for a big network like ESPN,” Alves said. “Today is a big step in that direction.”

She was not the only University of Miami student who got GameDay experience on Saturday. Ava Homer, a communications studies major at the School of Communication, helped staff the sign-making station, where Home Depot, a “College GameDay” sponsor, provided supplies and space for fans to create their own signs to be featured on the live show.

“I’m a senior, so this will be my only GameDay, I’m sure,” Homer said. “It’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

See more photos and video of Saturday’s broadcasts from Coral Gables.