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Chris Sabato

Small College Athletics Creative

About

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Chris Sabato

I am a creative for the Willamette University athletics department. A member of the Bearcat staff since 2005, I was promoted to Director of Athletic Communications in 2024.

I am responsible for video production, graphic design, photography, and social media within the athletics department. In this role, I am also responsible for the management of the Willamette University Athletics brand and identity.

An engineer at my core, I pride myself in my ability to find creative solutions. I have created numerous custom programs to save time and money. By creating in house solutions in lieu of purchasing an expensive alternative I'm able it make improvements by investing only time.

As an electronic timer for Willamette cross country and track & field meets I was interviewed by the New York Times to help explain the unprecedented tie in the 2012 Olympic Trials women's 100-meter dash.

Born and Raised in Western New York, I'm and devoted Buffalo sports fan... a life long member of Bills Mafia, an avid Sabres and Bandits fan.

Education

BA Electircal Engineering

Alfred University, 2022

Certifications

USA Track & Field

Official — National

Coach — Level 1

Experience

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Assistant Athletic Director, Media

Willamette University | Salem, Oregon

2016 - Present

Responsible for media production with in the department of Athletics. This includes all aspects of the Bearcat Network which streams over 100 events per year. Source or capture and catalog all digital imagery, including managing student photographers and hiring of contract photographers. Manage the structure and design of wubearcats.com adding elements and structure to better showcase student-athletes. Streamline processes through custom programs to better manage time and resources.


Creative Project Specialist

Willamette University | Salem, Oregon

2012 - 2016

Responsible for the visual design of print and web materials produced by the department of athletics. Designed schedule posters, camp brochures and other publications. Provided action and portrait photography, including game coverage, player headshots and portraits for posters and other media elements. Technical advisor for departmental audio visual and networking needs as well as internet based applications and software. Implemented in-house web streaming for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball and volleyball.


Assistant Track & Field Coach

Willamette University | Salem, Oregon

2005 - 2014

Coached the pole vaulters, sprinters, and jumpers. Served as meet director for cross country and track & field home meets including Northwest Conference and NCAA Championships. Organized and managed apparel supply and distribution. Maintained and repaired track and field equipment. Kept records including authoring custom programs for retrieving data from TFRRS for use on the athletics web site.


Assistant Track & Field Coach

Rhodes College | Memphis, Tennesee

2003 - 2005

Coached the pole vaulters, sprinters, and jumpers.


IT Desktop Support

Alstom Signalling | Rochester, New York

2002 - 2003

Addressing user tickets regarding hardware, software and networking. Walking customers through installing applications and computer peripherals.

Skills

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A jack of all trades is a master of none, though often times better than master of one.

Video Production

Specializing in small broadcasts utilizing automations and data driven graphics with locked off cameras to make the production feel bigger.

Photography

Sports photographer skilled in capturing action on the field or mastering lighting in the studio.

Graphic Design

Skilled in print and digital, specializing in template driven design to enable quickly turning out content for the web, social or physical media.

Video Editing

Knowledgeable in non-linear video editing and basic motion graphics including MORGT design and use.

Programming

Proficient in several programing languages having creating many custom programs for managing broadcast data, social media and web site data.

Photo Finish Timing

Adept in all aspects of cross country and track & field timing including photo finish and RFID chip timing as well as meet management software.

Tools

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Just some of the tools I regularly use and how proficient I feel I am with them.

vMix

NDI

Bitfocus Companion

PhotoMechanic

Adobe Creative Suite

Python

PHP

JavaScript

HTML/CSS

PrestoSports Template Engine

Hy-Tek

MeetPro

FinishLynx

Colorado Timing System 7

Posts

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Contact

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Want to say hello? Want to know more about me? Drop me an email or hit me up on social media and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Albany, Oregon

© Chris Sabato - All Rights Reserved