Full Sail Stories
Published Aug 13, 2025
Multiple Full Sail Sportscasting Grads Have Recently Won Awards
Several grads from the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting have been honored for their work.
Full Sail University launched the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting in early 2018. Since the Sportscasting bachelor’s degree program’s first graduation in October of 2019, 268 alumni have been hired to work in various roles across the broadcast media landscape.
“To put so many students into the industry in such a short amount of time is remarkable,” says Dan Patrick. “This program is the thing I am most proud of in my career.”
Many of these grads have recently been recognized with awards for their high-quality work as well. Here is a roundup of some of the recent award winners.
Titus Cleveland
Graduation Year: 2023
Current Role: Sports Anchor at KREX-TV in Grand Junction, Colorado
Award: Named the 2024 Colorado Sportscaster of the Year - Small Market Television by the Colorado Broadcasters Association
Mia Eremita
Graduation Year: 2023
Current Role: Content Creator, On-Air Talent, and Video Editor in the Esports Industry
Awards: 2023 National Collegiate Shoutcaster of the Year; selected for the Mastercard Gamer Academy in 2025; 2025 Content CreateHERS Award from the*gamehers
Brandon Ferguson
Graduation Year: 2024
Current Role: Anchor/Reporter at WRDE-TV in Milton, Delaware
Awards: Recipient of the 2024 Chesapeake AP Broadcasters Association awards for Best Multimedia Journalist and Outstanding News Series
Brandon Sneide
Graduation Year: 2024
Current Role: Producer/ Sports Anchor at 620 WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Award: The Army veteran was awarded the 2024 Bronze Award for Best Regularly-Scheduled Audio Program from the Milwaukee Press Club for Excellence in Journalism.
Justin Velazquez
Graduation Year: 2021
Current Role: Sports Anchor/Reporter at WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Award: Recipient of the 2024 TV News Feature Short Form from the Syracuse Press Club
Tiana Lefmann
Graduation Year: 2022
Current Role: Production Assistant at Spectrum SportsNet LA in Los Angeles, California
Award: Recipient of a 2024 Sports Emmy Award in the “Sports Series, Live Broadcast” category for Access SportsNet Dodgers
Charlie Yaeger
Graduation Year: 2022
Current Role: Sports Director at KAWE-TV in Bemidji, Minnesota
Awards: 2024 Eric Sevareid Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (first place in this category) and the 2024 Eric Sevareid Award for Sports Reporting from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association
Hanky Hazelton
Graduation Year: 2022
Current Role: Reporter at News Channel Nebraska in Norfolk, Nebraska
Award: 2024 Eric Sevareid Award of Merit in the Hard Feature category from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association
Zach Grady
Graduation Year: 2021
Current Role: Sports Director/Anchor at WBNG-TV in Johnson City, New York
Award: Recipient of the 2024 Best Sportscast Award from the Syracuse Press Club
Austin Parr
Graduation Year: 2022
Current Role: Sports Reporter at SWX Local Sports in Bozeman, Montana
Award: Recipient of the 2025 E.B. Craney Award for Best Sports Story or Series from the Montana Broadcasters Association
Sportscasting Program Director Gus Ramsey is thrilled about the impact these grads and so many others have made on the industry in such a short amount of time.
“All of the accolades our grads have received reflect how well our faculty and staff prepared them for the industry and how hard the grads have continued to work after they left Full Sail,” Gus says. “We’re extremely proud of them and proud to point to them as shining examples of what our program can produce.”
In addition to these award-winning grads, many have gone on to cover events like the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Final Four, NCAA football championship game, and the Daytona 500.
