Student Spotlight: Sam Johnson — Broadcast Intern with the Dallas Mavericks

Published on: February 18, 2026

When Sam Johnson was searching for a summer job last year, he didn’t expect his scroll on Indeed would land him in the production booth of his favorite NBA team. 

But now, the Husson University sports journalism senior is working as a broadcast intern with the Dallas Mavericks for the 2025-26 NBA season, where he is applying the skills learned at Husson, on the biggest stage in basketball.

“At first, I thought it was just a summer internship and I thought that was something cool I could do,” Johnson said. “And then I realized later on, it was for the NBA season, and I was like, oh wow, that’s during school.”

Rather than backing out of the internship, Johnson worked with Husson to finish his degree through online classes while applying, interviewing, and eventually landing the job. According to Michaela Lewis, MavsTV's broadcast coordinator, Johnson's background stood out during the hiring process.

"Sam's interest in audio was what really excited the MavsTV team when looking at potential candidates for this position," Lewis said. "Audio is a really important aspect of production that not many people are interested in."

Johnson spends his time shadowing the Maverick’s broadcast crew working on pregame, postgame, and halftime shows called MavsTV, as well as assisting with Mavs Insider original content. Some days he’s at the American Airlines Center working home games, while others he works in the team’s production studio for their away games.

At Husson, Johnson worked for NESCom Productions, helping with various live events hosted by the university, from sports to music. The transition from working on Husson Eagles basketball games to the Dallas Mavericks production team wasn’t without its challenges.

“I feel that what we were doing at Husson teaches the basics, but then once you see everything at this higher level at the NBA it's like ‘Oh, I’ve done this, but it's gonna be done in a different way,'” Johnson said. “So I’m really glad I was able to get the foundation at Husson.”

When the crew asked Johnson to step into the production truck and help with technical operations he hadn’t done before, he drew from the fundamentals he learned at Husson.

“I was like, ‘Well, I’ve seen this happen before, but I haven’t really worked in this exact field,” Johnson said. “They were like, ‘Do you at least know some of the basic stuff’ and I said “I know of it, but I haven’t actually done it.”

Johnson's willingness to learn new skills has allowed him to quickly adapt to what the Mavs need from him day to day.

"Sam has been such a great asset to the broadcast," Lewis said. "He is ready to jump in to help with any task and eager to learn about all aspects of production."

Along with his sports journalism degree at Husson, Johnson has earned a certificate in audio engineering. According to Lewis, that technical knowledge has made Johnson a valuable member of the MavsTV team and will set him apart when he pursues a career in the industry. 

“Sam’s future in sports broadcasting looks bright. He’s very professional and willing to help out in every aspect of production and that is very important when you're first starting out in this business,” Lewis said. “His passion for audio will definitely get him in the door because the industry is always looking for good audio technicians. His eagerness to learn, positive attitude and audio knowledge will get him far in this industry.”

The internship has given Johnson exposure to a new aspect of the sports broadcasting world, at the professional level. 

“Basketball is very fast paced," Johnson said. “Being prepared when certain things don’t work, when a mic just doesn’t work, which has happened a couple times, and I’ve been able to be like ‘Okay, we have a spare, go down and swap it out, then have someone run it back up.'”

Beyond the technical skills, Johnson credits his hands-on work at Husson for teaching him the importance of teamwork in a live production environment.

“I feel like working games and events, and being able to communicate together and rely on each other as a team, and be on one page, that’s the really big thing that Husson prepared me for.” Johnson said.

— Calvin White