Deane Runyon was just looking for 18 students for his sports broadcasting class. What this associate communications professor got was a 35-person waiting list for the latest addition to the communications curriculum.

Communications 497A-Sports Broadcasting is an experimental course designed to show prospective journalists the different dimensions of a career in television and radio. This includes many of the not-so-glamorous, behind-the-scenes jobs that are key to any successful production. Runyon sees his role as "an instructor as well as a facilitator" in order to inform the students of these jobs.

Runyon explained that the class is instrumental in order to show students many of the jobs that are normally overlooked in the world of broadcasting.

"I want them to see someone doing their job and say, 'Hey, I could do that,' " he said.

Paul Alexander, sports director of WTAJ-TV, said he believes that a more pressing concern with sports broadcasting today is the competition for jobs with the "influx of ex-jocks" entering the profession.

Regardless, the class is getting rave reviews and is piquing new interests from many of its students. K.J. Lupica (senior-broadcast cable) admitted that she never used to look at a sports article in a newspaper, but has discovered that sports broadcasting is something new and different.

"Now I do things like watch camera shots, and it's very interesting," she said.

Runyon conducts a class that is a bit different from the norm. He recognizes the best and only way to give his students the information that is relevant to sports broadcasting today is through the people who are currently in the field.

"I want to ask good questions, and have good people answer them," Runyon said.

And he does just that every Monday night at 6:30 p.m., when he arranges for a different guest to address the class, either in person or on a conference call. This gives the students a hands-on account of what is happening in production, both in front of and behind the scenes. The speakers relay their personal thoughts and concerns about the sports broadcasting business.

A typical class would find an experienced broadcaster, such as Raycom Sports Director Johnny Tyous, giving an in-depth account of the camera positions during the Penn State/Georgia Tech Kickoff Classic in 1991.

Prior to the call, the class often views a sample of its speaker's work. The guest then explains his role to the class as Runyon and the students jump in with questions. Some commonly asked questions include, "What did you do to land your first job?" or "Where do you see the future of sports broadcasting headed with an increase in options such as espn2?"

"We take a look at a path," Runyon said. "We ask where they've been and what they've done to get there."

This, Runyon said, is the key to the student's understanding. Runyon encourages his students to read as much as possible outside of the classroom, particularly events in the world of sports. That and an individual broadcasting production are two of the assigned projects that Runyon has incorporated into the semester.

Sports broadcasting has prompted many students to hope for more specialized classes in their futures. Dean Michalski (senior-broadcast journalism) said he feels that because of high interest, there should be more of these specialized classes.

"Many people want to get into sports broadcasting," he said. "It's a big business."