From NBC Olympics to NBC Golf Coverage

By David Allen
Journal Star sports reporter

Posted Sep. 28, 2015 at 3:20 PM

BARTONVILLE – When hard work meets opportunity, dreams can come true. That has been the case for Bradley graduate Jake Hermann. The 25-year-old from Bartonville has parlayed an interview for an Olympic internship into a full-time traveling experience with NBC golf coverage. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” said Hermann, a 2009 Limestone graduate. “So I went to ICC to get started.”

He studied radio broadcasting and mass communications at Illinois Central College, where he did a half-hour radio show, mainly on ICC sports. Then at Bradley, he heard about that opportunity to go to the Olympics as an intern. The school has a partnership with NBC Universal, with up to 70 students interviewed to go to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

“I thought it would be awesome to get into that. I applied and got in,” Hermann said. “They took 50 applications, NBC interviewed 30 and they took six to Russia.”

The interns did just about every little thing in production support, from runners to office work to setup. “They sent us to different venues, anything that needed setups, props for nightly shows,” Hermann said. “One time I had to go find a sled for the skeleton luge.

“It was a real learning experience. It was good to see a lot of different parts of the production, the logistics, the different trailers and all the equipment that is needed.

“When they’d ask, I’d volunteer for whatever it was. If they asked for a volunteer, I’d raise my hand. They learned they could count on me to do it. You have to take your own initiative. Some things you figure out as you go, sometimes you had to ask questions to get things done.” Hermann was in Sochi for a month over January and February 2014, and worked for Ryan Soucy of NBC. After graduation that spring, Hermann emailed him. Soucy, senior director of golf operations for NBC, initially asked him to work the Super Bowl, then to join the network for the 2015 golf season.

“I use him as an example for other students,” said Dr. Paul Gullifor, communications department chair at Bradley. “This is an example of how someone should do things. He did all the things that we typically preach; work hard, take names, get business cards. He worked hard, did these things, made contacts and pursued them.”

Gullifor tried to contact Hermann and found out he was at the Super Bowl. “I was trying to find Jason, and someone told me he’s in Arizona,” Gullifor said. “I said, ‘How’d he get tickets to the Super Bowl?’ But they said, ‘He’s working the Super Bowl.’ He kept in touch with people he needed to and that led from one opportunity to another, and he’s living the dream.”

Even as his first golf season pushes into fall and comes close to an end, Hermann is sill unclear of his future direction. “I still don’t know what I want to do,” he said. “I just think it’s cool to see how everything gets put together. Even the smallest jobs take a lot of work and depend on a lot of things coming together.

“It’s just something that kind of came up and I’m running with it right now. You have to put your nose to the grindstone,” Gullifor said. “He’s an example of good things happening to good people who work hard.” As one of five members of production support on golf tournaments, Hermann sets up trailers for the NBC compound. Trailers are used for office, catering, production manager, tech manager and on-air talent.

“Every day, I have to find a place that can feed 140,” Hermann said. The first event he worked was the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

The days run together, Hermann said, but he never forgets the town where he’s working. “Usually Monday and Tuesday, we get a chance to get out and do something,” Hermann said. “I’ve had a chance to go to some baseball games.” While working for NBC, he has taken the opportunity to visit Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, AT & T Park and Minute Maid Park. But most weekends are 14-hour work days. He gets to the course around 6 a.m. and is usually there until 8 p.m.

“We’re with the talent all the time, making sure they have what they need,” Hermann said. “They’re very helpful and down to Earth. They’re very quick to grab something and help us get it to where it needs to go. I think it goes back to when they were athletes and know there is a lot to do to prepare for an event.”

Ironically, Hermann has experience at doing just about anything on a golf course. He worked carts, the pro shop, maintenance and even bartended at Coyote Creek Golf Club in Bartonville.

Hermann credits his decision to attend Bradley with opening doors for him. “If it wasn’t for Bradley, none of this would have happened,” he said. “They set up the thing with NBC. The internship got this whole thing going. When I went to Sochi, they helped with the schedule. I missed the first several weeks of the semester and everyone was very helpful.”

Approved with permission Peoria Journal Star, September 29, 2015