Broadcasting opportunities at UNI led David Warrington to the women’s Final Four
Broadcasting opportunities at UNI led David Warrington to the women’s Final Four
While millions across the country with Caitlin Clark fever set record-breaking viewership watching from home, UNI alum and current broadcast journalist David Warrington had a front row seat at the NCAA women’s basketball championship as part of his work assignment.
“Just being able to play a small role in telling the story of almost a renaissance of women’s sports — that's been a really unique opportunity, because it's not something that people really were paying attention to, quite frankly, but I think they're starting to realize they probably should have been because it's just incredible,” he said.
A late night voicemail notified Warrington that he would be in Cleveland for the women’s Final Four, covering the hoopla for KWWL-TV, a local NBC affiliate based in Waterloo, Iowa. Two days later, he was on the road.
“That was really exciting because I thought I might get the chance to do that, but I really wasn't sure,” said Warrington. “Just getting to know that I was going to be there to help tell the story of a team competing for a national championship was crazy.”
This experience at the center of the sports world comes less than a year after Warrington completed his digital media journalism degree at UNI. He believes the journalism experience he gained as a student, mixed with a little luck, helped land his current job.
“There were tons of opportunities at UNI for me to figure out exactly what I wanted to do within the journalism field,” said Warrington. “There's a lot of really, really good journalism professors here.”
For Warrington, two opportunities stand out in particular: broadcasting with ESPN+ and writing for the Northern Iowan. Warrington had some experience broadcasting high school sporting events from when he was in high school. At UNI, he showed digital media and communication instructor Eric Braley clips of his broadcasts. Braley was immediately impressed and thought Warrington would be a great fit for broadcasting UNI sports coverage on ESPN+, starting with softball and eventually leading to men and women’s basketball.
“Quite frankly, I don't think I would have this job without that experience,” he said. “That was huge toward getting me where I am today. It was a unique experience that I wouldn’t have had at another school.”
Warrington joined the Northern Iowan as a staff writer within weeks of coming to campus as a freshman. His experience at the NI culminated in becoming the sports editor his senior year.
“There were tons of opportunities at UNI for me to figure out exactly what I wanted to do within the journalism field,” said Warrington. “There's a lot of really, really good journalism professors here.”
“Even though I didn't go into the newspaper industry, that's still invaluable experience, because I write scripts for TV every single day, and then those scripts turn into web articles that I write,” he said. “So just being able to write no matter what you're doing in this field is so important. The Northern Iowan is such an exceptional opportunity for anybody who’s interested in writing or journalism at all, because you have so much freedom to pursue stories you're interested in. There's also some really, really good people both that you'll work with and that you'll have advising you. Chris Martin and Anelia Dimitrova — they do a fantastic job as our advisors.”
Warrington first connected with KWWL a few months prior to his graduation in spring 2023. He began working there a month before he graduated, starting a couple days a week before moving into a full-time position. Since then, he’s covered everything from election night to RAGBRAI. But, of course, covering the women’s Final Four followed by the championship is a highlight, where he had early mornings followed by busy days of gathering footage, interviewing players and fans. He admits it was a lot of work, but it was worth it.
“I got to be one of the very few lucky people to be there in Cleveland, telling the story of these incredible women that are accomplishing so much on the basketball court,” said Warrington. “It was such an incredible opportunity that I'm really grateful for, because that's just not something everybody gets to do, especially if somebody has been in this industry for only a year.”
When Warrington packed up and headed back to Iowa, he had a new sense of pride and confidence in his abilities as a journalist.
“I think the biggest thing I can take away is if I was able to successfully cover the Final Four and all the madness that goes into that, I shouldn't be stressed out about anything, because I've proven to myself,” he said.
It’s extra special because Warrington has a personal connection — Coach Lisa Bluder, another UNI alum, is his aunt.
“Knowing that she was achieving her dreams, too, was really special,” he said.
Although it may be hard to top his experience with the women’s NCAA tournament any time soon, Warrington is looking forward to telling more stories and continuing his work in broadcast television.
“I think the biggest thing I can take away is if I was able to successfully cover the Final Four and all the madness that goes into that, I shouldn't be stressed out about anything, because I've proven to myself,” said Warrington.
“For me, it's all about continuing to get better on the air to continue to perfect my craft, and getting to do that in front of all the people I grew up with is something I'm really excited about.”
