Alex Kartman
Associate Lecturer in Department of Media and Director of Sports Production
Alex Kartman joined the Media faculty in 2013 as the Assistant Director of Digital Sports Production and Instructor of Media, teaching sports broadcasting and video production courses. Kartman is an award-winning storyteller and producer, specializing in video production and live event production. In 2015, he was promoted to Director of Digital Sports Production (Sports Link and Esports) as the program continues to grow.
Graduates can be found at ESPN, Turner Sports, Tupelo Honey, MLB, Indy Car, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, and NCAA Athletics Departments across the country.
Kartman helps oversee the award-winning Ball State Sports Link program, as students produce content for Ball State Athletics and ESPN. Since 2015, all student-produced live sports events from the University's 40-foot HD Production truck and centralized control room will air on ESPN platforms. Kartman also leads collaboration between Sports Link students and the NCAA, in which students create content for NCAA social media channels. In 2017, the Sports Link program overall was ranked No. 3 in the nation for top sports broadcasting schools by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America. Since 2009, students in Ball State Sports Link have garnered over 130 state or national awards for sports production, including 56 Emmy and/or Student Production Award nominations (28 wins) and 41 Sports Video Group/Best of College Sports Media nominations (10 wins).
In April 2021, Kartman oversaw the completion and opening of a 3,611 square foot Esports Center on Ball State's campus. The facility included a 6-vs-6 competition arena, 24 lounge/classroom PCs, two iRacing simulators, and a control room to produce multi camera broadcasts of all events in the facility.
In 2019, Ball State Sports Link partnered with Cardiff Met University in Cardiff, Wales to collaborate internationally on learning opportunities and immersions. In spring 2020, Kartman and students travelled to Wales to produce Transatlantic Storytelling, a feature-length documentary on sport and culture in Wales.
Kartman brings years of experience in sports broadcasting to the department. He freelances as a producer, director, technical director, and audio on productions around the country. His work includes NBA regional TV, FOX Sports college basketball and US Open Golf, Big3 Basketball on CBS, Big Ten Network football and basketball, Tupelo Honey productions of ESPN and NCAA.com events, and NBC Sports coverage of the Drake Relays. He traveled to the 2012 London Olympic Games with the Ball State at the Games immersive learning project, producing feature stories and vignettes on numerous Olympians. Kartman has worked with Ball State Sports Link as a student and a graduate assistant since 2009.
Kartman is a graduate of Ball State University with his bachelor's in Telecommunications and a master's in Digital Storytelling.