SEATTLE, Wash. – The Portland Sports Network (PSN), University of Portland's in-house athletics video team, has been nominated for three Northwest Emmy® Awards as announced by the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

PSN's feature "Gus & Travis: The Ultimate Gift" was nominated in the Sports – Feature/Segment category. The story aired on in May of 2015 on the Comcast SportsNet Northwest monthly television show Portside with the Pilots. 

PSN also received two nominations in the Northwest Regional College Student Awards division. The first is a story produced by Portland senior Riley Clark and is titled "University of Portland Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Raises Money for St. Baldrick's Foundation." The second feature was produced by freshman Ian Hannah and is titled "2016 Portland Pilots Baseball – The Dawn of a New Era." Both stories also aired on Portside with the Pilots. 

"This is really exciting and deserving recognition for our talented video team," said Jason Brough, Portland Associate Athletic Director for Public Relations. "We are fortunate to have creative individuals that have embraced the opportunity to create a high-functioning video department that tells the story of so many interesting and vibrant students, staff, and alums within the UP athletics family."

PSN consists of two full-time creative video professionals as Director of Video Services, James Vega, and Director of Live Video Production, Jose Nevarez, manage the day-to-day operations of PSN. In addition, a robust group of student interns from various undergraduate academic programs help in both the creative and live video productions. 

"We wanted to be leaders in the video era of intercollegiate athletics and I think this recognition validates much of what we already knew," Portland Athletic Director Scott Leykam said. "Our video team is doing award-winning work and really setting the bar high for what is possible when it comes to in-house production for a school of our size."

"PSN's three Northwest Emmy® nominations reflect the University of Portland's strong commitment to producing outstanding video content and represent well deserved recognition for its very talented production team," said Larry Eldridge, Vice President and General Manager for CSN Northwest. "'Gus and Travis: The Ultimate Gift' was a moving and  memorable episode of Portside with the Pilots, and represents a fitting testament to the consistently outstanding work produced by PSN."

"Gus & Travis: The Ultimate Gift" is a story about former Pilot baseball players Gus Little and Travis Vetters who were teammates from 2002 to 2006. They are forever connected through friendship, sacrifice and teamwork. When Gus experienced kidney failure in 2014, Travis stepped up and donated a kidney to Gus and ultimately saved his life. You can watch the show in its entirety by clicking here. 

"University of Portland Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Raises Money for St. Baldrick's Foundation" shows how UP's SAAC raises money for childhood cancer research. The UP Men's Soccer team took the lead on the project, and faculty, staff and students shaved their heads to spark fundraising efforts for the cause. To watch the full feature, click here.

"2016 Portland Pilots Baseball – The Dawn of a New Era" focuses on the rebuilding efforts that UP baseball alum Geoff Loomis is undertaking as he enters his first season as head coach of the program. The team has already created culture that has led to immediate success on the field. To watch the feature, click here.

The Northwest Regional Emmy® Awards will be held on Saturday, June 4th in Seattle, Washington.

About NATAS NW (From NATASNW.org)

The Northwest Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences serves television and media professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington. 

The NATAS Northwest Regional Emmy® Awards recognize outstanding achievements in television and allied media by conferring annual awards of merit in the Chapter's designated award region.