Liberty University starts new student-run television show called “Fuse”

“An entertainment variety show featuring club sports athletes and their lives,” was the pitch that kickstarted Liberty University’s new student-run television show: FUSE. 

FUSE began in 2018 when Liberty Flames Sports Network student workers decided they wanted to get more out of their college experience.  

“It was time for a student-run show to happen on campus that wasn’t involved in classes,” Executive Producer of FUSE Jacob Crossman said. “It wasn’t mandatory. It was just for students who wanted to do it.”

Crossman and his friends spent about five months crafting the concept of the show before taping a pilot last November. Once they had an idea for what FUSE would become, the recruiting process began.  

“We don’t oversell it, we just say, ‘This is what we do,’” Crossman said. “Whether you have experience in the studio or not, whatever you want to do, we can make that happen.” 

FUSE does not pay its workers, and there is no class credit involved. The show is simply for students who have a passion for television and building their portfolio. 

“If you want to run a camera for late night TV one day, you can do it for us, and it’s exactly the same feel,” Crossman said. “If you want to direct, you can direct for us.” 

The staff at FUSE finds satisfaction in the quality of their content and performance. The show airs during the year round D1 Hockey broadcasts on ESPN+, a big milestone for a student production.  

“I think there’s a sense of pride with FUSE, because you don’t have a teacher, you don’t have a supervisor. … It’s entirely student run,” co-host of FUSE Brhett Vickery said. “So, when we execute a show that’s able to be aired on ESPN+ … we did that ourselves.” 

The show is filmed in the Game On studio at the LFSN office.

Vickery said there are still plenty of opportunities for students who are looking to get involved and move their way up in the show, as long as they are willing to put in the work.

“The fact that most of our senior content producers are leaving and a lot of our staff are seniors, there’s a lot of room for people who want to be talent, to be producers,” Vickery said. “But that doesn’t happen overnight. … You have to be passionate about it.”

FUSE aired its first episode in January, and Crossman said they are on track to complete one episode a month for the remainder of the semester. The date for the next show has not been announced. 

Liberty freshman Justin Jacobs was one of the students involved in taping the first episode, and he is planning on sticking around. 

“I’m a production assistant right now, so I just do anything they ask me to do,” Jacobs said. “But, I want to work my way up to maybe being a producer someday.”

Students who are interested in working for FUSE can email Jacob Crossman at jdcrossman@liberty.edu. More information about the show can be found on their Facebook page, @FUSEshowLU.

“If you’re interested in working in TV, you should do it,” Crossman said. “We’ll find a place for you.”