Nebraska Native Helps Keep ESPN's College Gameday on the Air

Sept. 27, 2019, 12:20 p.m. ·

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Mike Ruhlman is stage manager for College GameDay, and is a native of North Platte, Nebraska. (Photo by Allison Mollenkamp, NET News)

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The Nebraska Cornhuskers take on the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday, and the matchup is attracting national attention. ESPN’s College GameDay program will be broadcasting live from outside Memorial Stadium. It’s a complex operation and a Nebraskan is making sure the show gets on the air.


The parking lot outside Memorial Stadium has been taken over by a television crew. The massive GameDay stage looms over carts filled with cords; boxes of bottled water sit under tents; sponsor signs cover everything.

Some of the equipment needed to get GameDay on the air. (Photo by Allison Mollenkamp, NET News)

The semi-trucks filled with equipment arrived on Wednesday, and Thursday is used to build the set. Overseeing the build is stage manager Mike Ruhlman, a native of North Platte and an alumnus of the University of Nebraska –Lincoln.

“I started out in chemical engineering, and then when I discovered the world of television, I switched to broadcast journalism,” Ruhlman said.

Ruhlman discovered television work through GameDay and Nebraska football. In 1998, the then #2 Cornhuskers took on the #9 Washington Huskies, and GameDay came to Lincoln.

“They actually called the house phone at the fraternity that I was living in needing some guys to help move some equipment around and that sort of thing," Ruhlman said. "I didn’t actually help out on that first show, but some of my friends did, and I went over and saw what was going on and got to talk with some of the people and the next time they came back I worked with them and decided that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”

To this day, GameDay recruits local help for their shows, including this week’s broadcast from Lincoln.

“I don’t know if we call the local frat house, because a lot of universities now have television broadcast or journalism, sports media programs,” said Judi Weiss, senior operations producer for College Gameday. “We do generally try to make a point of hiring students week in and out because it gives them an opportunity to work behind the scenes on a show like this.”

The GameDay crew has taken over the area outside Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Allison Mollenkamp, NET News)

Students and local hires work as utilities assistants or runners. Those assigned to utilities wrap cable, carry equipment, and drive golf carts for camera and audio crews.

“And then the runners are the ones that are running around, driving talent to and from the hotels," Weiss said. "They’re also going out and doing some shopping for us. It’s not just snacks and catering, but sometimes, you know, we need hard drives and things that have to get purchased for the show.”

Those things help the main crew of several dozen people do their jobs. The show broadcasts from a different city each week, and part of Ruhlman’s job is making sure the show’s look remains the same every Saturday.

“The last time we were here we did the show on the field and we decided this year that was kind of not gonna work based on how much space we need," Ruhlman said. "We have a couple of jumbotrons that we set up. We have three separate stages that we use. We have a lot of sponsors that come with us, and all of those things are important parts of the show.”

This week the hosts’ desk sits with Memorial Stadium in the background.

Two of the six mainstage cameras on the GameDay set. (Photo by Allison Mollenkamp, NET News)

“We have six different cameras that we set up on this stage to get all the different shots of the talent who sit at the desk there,” Ruhlman said.

GameDay’s hosts and crew haven’t made an appearance in Lincoln for 12 years.

“Obviously it presents a bit of a challenge," Ruhlman said. "Our director and our operations specialist and our staging director came out and did a survey on Sunday when we decided on this location because we didn’t know exactly where we wanted to set up. It’s fun to come to a place you haven’t been before or you haven’t been in a long time, but it does require a little more leg-work.”

Once that work of planning and building is finished and the crew starts their live broadcasts, Ruhlman's job isn’t over.

“During the show, I help make sure that it runs smoothly. The talent know where they need to be, know which cameras they need to look at, know when all of the elements in the show are happening and everybody is where they need to be when they need to be there, and hopefully it goes smoothly,” Ruhlman said.

Sometimes, though, things don’t run smoothly. Weiss says last year the show went to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game and started on their usual set.

“And we started to get warnings of lightning in the area, and they literally were having a tropical depression while we were on the air," Weiss said. "So we saw the lightning and we were able… we always have an emergency location to go to, a backup location to go to, which we expect to maybe go to for maybe a segment. We don’t expect to do an entire three-hour show.”

A few of the vehicles used to transport the GameDay set and crew members. (Photo by Allison Mollenkamp, NET News)

This week Weiss expects the backup location will be the Nebraska Coliseum, and there is a chance of rain during the game, in which Ohio State is favored by 17 and a half points.

Ruhlman is hoping for an upset, and rooting for the home team.

“I really hope it’s close. I mean I’m a big Nebraska fan obviously. I think they’ve shown lots of signs of improvement. And I think they can, on any given day, they could beat Ohio State,” Ruhlman said.

However this week’s game turns out, Ruhlman and the rest of the Gameday team will pack up the set and move onto the next city, the next show, and the next game.