From science stars to baseball starters, the university’s latest TV commercial shines a light on the talent and opportunities that abound on Rocky Top.
The commercial will debut during the Vols’ football game against Western Kentucky this Saturday, September 7. Kickoff is at 12:21 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network. The broadcast networks allot thirty seconds of free promotion time for each school during games.
Created by UT’s Department of Video and Photography, the spot features Harry “Hap” McSween, Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and R.A. Dickey, former Vol baseball player and current pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.
The campus community can get a sneak peek of the commercial below.
Planning for the commercial began in May and filming wrapped up in August. The message will air during every Tennessee football and men’s and women’s basketball game during the 2013-14 season, and will be viewed by millions of fans during the year.
McSween is a leading expert on the composition of Mars and meteorites. He recently received the Whipple Award from the American Geophysical Union for his outstanding contributions in the field of planetary science. McSween also is the 2013 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Professor of the Year, an honor awarded to professors whose record in research, scholarship, and service places him or her among the elite in higher education. Read more about the award in Tennessee Today.
R.A. Dickey played baseball for the Vols from 1994 to 1996, during which time he was an academic All-American and the school’s only three-time All-American. He was the National League Cy Young Award winner in 2012, after his last season with the New York Mets. Last month he received the 2013 Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award for his work with the Bombay Teen Challenge in India. Read more about the award on UTSports.com.