By Jason Smith
Sports Editor
Hoover High School had "Two-A-Days", Bobby Knight starred in the ESPN reality show "Knight School" and the NFL has "Hard Knocks."
Now, the Ole Miss football team is going to be the focus of a new TV documentary broadcast on TruTV that will detail the actual events that occur during a team's preparations for the season.
Union Square Sports and Entertainment is spearheading the project, and TruTV, a part of Turner Broadcasting that reaches nearly 90 million homes across the nation, has picked up the documentary.
Given the success of previous football based television shows, Union Sports decided to try its luck in the college football realm.
"The goal of the project is to produce a type of Hard Knocks equivalent while profiling an exceptional university with a quality coaching staff," said Shawn Garrity, president of Union Square Sports and Entertainment (USSE).
Garrity is a native of Meridian and spent his college years playing football for Syracuse University as an offensive lineman.
Garrity hopes to use this experience to make the documentary a highly accurate depiction of the impact football has on the players, staff, town and university.
"I know how hard they work everyday to be a great team," Garrity said. "We want to pick the right program and to see what the season is like and see what the university and the town go through going out in the hostile environments of the SEC and what they go through to prepare for the games. We want to make it a documentary about what actually happens on campus."
The process has been ongoing for the past seven to eight weeks, and many people are wondering why USSE selected Ole Miss as the subject of its documentary.
According to Garrity, USSE has a history with Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt and recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach Chris Vaughn that dates back to their days at Arkansas.
"Anywhere those guys are they are quality," Garrity said. Former Heisman trophy winner Chuck Muncie is working with USSE on the project, and his relationship with Nutt proved to be highly influential in their decision to select Ole Miss. Muncie and Nutt coached together in an East-West Shrine All Star game a few years ago and Muncie informed Garrity that Nutt's true personality, compassion and character made the Rebels the best choice for USSE.
Garrity also cited his ties to the state and the fact that his family cares about Mississippi and is aware of the attention circulating around the Ole Miss football team this season.
"We care about the state, and we recognize what is going with that university. Across the campus there is construction constantly ongoing and they are striving for global excellence," Garrity said.
Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone also attributed the Rebels' selection to the charisma of Houston Nutt, the progress of the university and the buzz that is circulating around the country regarding the upcoming Ole Miss season.
The show has not been finalized, however.
According to Garrity, the show needs final approval from TruTV and Ole Miss.
"True to their responsibility, they were very guarded about this and very careful," Garrity said. "An unusual amount of say and control was asked for and we granted it. We feel it would be tremendous and they are excited, but we want to make sure it looks great, conveys the right message and portrays the state, university and student-athletes in a positive light."
Boone sees the show as a tremendous opportunity for Ole Miss and the football program but wants to ensure the show does not serve as a detriment to the preparation of the football team and that they do not lose sight of their goals.
"If it is done right and in a professional way it gives good insight into the preparation it takes for the coaches, players, training staff, equipment managers and student-athletes to prepare for an SEC season," Boone said. "It is an interesting topic that will provide behind the scenes information."
One of the main concerns Boone and the university have about the project is ensuring that
all the NCAA rulings regarding student-athletes and exposure and promotions are abided by, and they want to make sure to protect the student athletes and Ole Miss on NCAA issues. The second main concern of Boone centers around protecting the image of Ole Miss.
"You never really know when you grant someone access what the final product may be," Boone said. "We believe in these people and they are directing it the right way, but you should always have control to the content and to the extent that it may portray the coaches, staff and student-athletes in a negative light, and we don't want that to happen. You never really know how things might develop so you have to have safeguards."
According to Boone, they have approved everything and they expect a storyline to be developed
within the next two to four weeks. Camera crews will then return in August for camp, and shoot on a daily basis and then allow the university one final opportunity to edit the material.
Boone and Garrity do not foresee any major roadblocks in the coming weeks, and both parties are hopeful a finished product emerges.
Garrity also added that the university and staff has been easy to work with and had a positive impact on the crew.
"It has been a pleasure spending time with the coaches, athletes and the people. No doubt that there is a university heading in the right direction," Garrity said
Sports Editor
Hoover High School had "Two-A-Days", Bobby Knight starred in the ESPN reality show "Knight School" and the NFL has "Hard Knocks."
Now, the Ole Miss football team is going to be the focus of a new TV documentary broadcast on TruTV that will detail the actual events that occur during a team's preparations for the season.
Union Square Sports and Entertainment is spearheading the project, and TruTV, a part of Turner Broadcasting that reaches nearly 90 million homes across the nation, has picked up the documentary.
Given the success of previous football based television shows, Union Sports decided to try its luck in the college football realm.
"The goal of the project is to produce a type of Hard Knocks equivalent while profiling an exceptional university with a quality coaching staff," said Shawn Garrity, president of Union Square Sports and Entertainment (USSE).
Garrity is a native of Meridian and spent his college years playing football for Syracuse University as an offensive lineman.
Garrity hopes to use this experience to make the documentary a highly accurate depiction of the impact football has on the players, staff, town and university.
"I know how hard they work everyday to be a great team," Garrity said. "We want to pick the right program and to see what the season is like and see what the university and the town go through going out in the hostile environments of the SEC and what they go through to prepare for the games. We want to make it a documentary about what actually happens on campus."
The process has been ongoing for the past seven to eight weeks, and many people are wondering why USSE selected Ole Miss as the subject of its documentary.
According to Garrity, USSE has a history with Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt and recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach Chris Vaughn that dates back to their days at Arkansas.
"Anywhere those guys are they are quality," Garrity said. Former Heisman trophy winner Chuck Muncie is working with USSE on the project, and his relationship with Nutt proved to be highly influential in their decision to select Ole Miss. Muncie and Nutt coached together in an East-West Shrine All Star game a few years ago and Muncie informed Garrity that Nutt's true personality, compassion and character made the Rebels the best choice for USSE.
Garrity also cited his ties to the state and the fact that his family cares about Mississippi and is aware of the attention circulating around the Ole Miss football team this season.
"We care about the state, and we recognize what is going with that university. Across the campus there is construction constantly ongoing and they are striving for global excellence," Garrity said.
Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone also attributed the Rebels' selection to the charisma of Houston Nutt, the progress of the university and the buzz that is circulating around the country regarding the upcoming Ole Miss season.
The show has not been finalized, however.
According to Garrity, the show needs final approval from TruTV and Ole Miss.
"True to their responsibility, they were very guarded about this and very careful," Garrity said. "An unusual amount of say and control was asked for and we granted it. We feel it would be tremendous and they are excited, but we want to make sure it looks great, conveys the right message and portrays the state, university and student-athletes in a positive light."
Boone sees the show as a tremendous opportunity for Ole Miss and the football program but wants to ensure the show does not serve as a detriment to the preparation of the football team and that they do not lose sight of their goals.
"If it is done right and in a professional way it gives good insight into the preparation it takes for the coaches, players, training staff, equipment managers and student-athletes to prepare for an SEC season," Boone said. "It is an interesting topic that will provide behind the scenes information."
One of the main concerns Boone and the university have about the project is ensuring that
all the NCAA rulings regarding student-athletes and exposure and promotions are abided by, and they want to make sure to protect the student athletes and Ole Miss on NCAA issues. The second main concern of Boone centers around protecting the image of Ole Miss.
"You never really know when you grant someone access what the final product may be," Boone said. "We believe in these people and they are directing it the right way, but you should always have control to the content and to the extent that it may portray the coaches, staff and student-athletes in a negative light, and we don't want that to happen. You never really know how things might develop so you have to have safeguards."
According to Boone, they have approved everything and they expect a storyline to be developed
within the next two to four weeks. Camera crews will then return in August for camp, and shoot on a daily basis and then allow the university one final opportunity to edit the material.
Boone and Garrity do not foresee any major roadblocks in the coming weeks, and both parties are hopeful a finished product emerges.
Garrity also added that the university and staff has been easy to work with and had a positive impact on the crew.
"It has been a pleasure spending time with the coaches, athletes and the people. No doubt that there is a university heading in the right direction," Garrity said
