​The NBA G League honored Rowan University’s partnership with the Delaware Blue Coats as the partnership of the year on Sept. 11.The six-year collaboration treats the professional basketball arena as a big classroom for students at Rowan. Beginning in November 2020, Rowan University created the Blue Coats Broadcast Academy, designating a Rowan University radio station as the official radio home of the team.More: Rowan welcomes students back, celebrates new veterinary classThe Blue Coats official affiliate is the Philadelphia 76ers after the NBA team acquired the minor league squad in 2013. They play their games at the University of Delaware’s campus.More than 40 students work with the Blue Coats each season, according to Rowan’s website. Students provide radio play-by-play coverage of all Blue Coats home games, and writers experience beat reporter status for the team.“On game days, Rowan students are fully embedded into live team operations, assisting with social media coverage, merchandise sales, game stat crew, venue setup and breakdown,” said Neil Hartman, senior director of Rowan University’s Center for Sports Communication & Social Impact.“Most notably, the entire game-day broadcast production is completely student-run behind the scenes, with Rowan students directing, producing, and managing control room operations and game cameras.”Additionally, the partnership serves as a career pipeline into professional sports, with alumni successfully transitioning into full-time roles with both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Delaware Blue Coats. “By delivering high-quality content, genuine community impact and proven career pathways, the collaboration stands out as an award-winning benchmark for modern sports partnerships,” Hartman said. The Blue Coats are just one of several professional partners that Rowan students work with for professional experience before graduation.Members of the sports communication program also partner with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, a baseball minor league affiliate, and a minor league hockey team, the Trenton Ironhawks.Rowan has an additional partnership with the largest regional mixed martial arts organization in the country, Cage Fury Fighting Championship.In total, Rowan’s partnerships with these teams involve more than 100 students in the sports communications program.The NBA G League is the official minor or developmental league for the NBA, helping young, undrafted or recovering NBA players improve their skills to earn a spot on an active roster.Mia Boykin is an education/watchdog reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: mboykin@gannettnj.com. Please consider a digital subscription.This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Rowan University broadcast program honored by NBA G League