Kaitlyn Kravik is much like other 21-year-old seniors at Texas Tech University. She balances a course load full of journalism classes, extracurriculars in the College of Media & Communication and membership duties of her sorority, Chi Omega.
But, this weekend she will be on a 5,040-square-foot mega-screen at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, broadcasting game details to around 40,000 baseball fans.
Left, Kaitlyn Kravik attends a Texas Rangers game as a child. Right, Kravik works as the in-game host for the Rangers during an exhibition game last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Kravik)
“I never thought I would be in sports,” the new in-game host for the Texas Rangers admitted.
Growing up in Plano, Texas, young Kravik played a few seasons of soccer in elementary school and had a little involvement in softball, but she recalls hating practice. Kravik said she acted in theater from kindergarten through high school graduation and was looking at universities for their theater programs.
“The only time I thought I would ever be in Lubbock was because I came here my junior year for one-act play,” Kravik said with a smile. “We were at regionals; we competed here at Texas Tech.”
After a stressful senior year of high school, the student decided on staying close to home and attending her parents’ alma mater, Texas Tech University, instead of northeastern schools she had been considering.
“I’ve always liked writing, had an interest in news,” the journalism major explained. “Thought that broadcast wouldn’t be a bad route to take, with a theater background.”
(Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Kravik)
Kravik reminisced about her family taking vacations to different baseball parks, such as Wrigley Field and Coors Field, even traveling to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
“Texas Rangers, I will say I had the most interest in out of any sport,” Kravik said. “I think also, going to Tech where football is so big, all the Tech traditions are so huge and rowdy and fun just made me fall in love with college football and just really sports in general.”
Seeking more involvement within her college as a sophomore, Kravik saw a blurb on TechAnnounce about a meeting for the Double T Insider, a student-produced sports show. Interested, the student attended and was put to work immediately.
“Right away at the meeting, I was being taught how to edit,” she said. “And, the very next day, I was filming stand up for the first time. So, it was automatically very involved.”
Kaitlyn Kravik, right, hosts the Double T Insider, alongside co-host Bret Brown. (Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Kravik)
One year later, she took the content producer and host job at DTI, interviewing student athletes.
“Covering it, of course, you actually get to see the other side of the athlete that’s not just the, you know, extremely talented and, you know, strong athlete,” the journalist explained. “It’s the ‘this is a real person’ type of thing.”
She recollected her first interview with football player Eric Ward, a then-Texas Tech wide receiver, and later meeting Gabriel Rivera, a former tight end and linebacker for the Red Raiders who became paralyzed in a drunk driving collision shortly after advancing to the NFL. Rivera was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Aside from student athletes, other memorable interviews for the host include Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech athletic director, and the current head football coach, Kliff Kingsbury.
Kravik, right, interviews Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech head football coach, for the Double T Insider. (Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Kravik)
“It’s kind of been the best thing that’s happened to me in college, being a part of Double T Insider,” Kravik said. “It’s given me a lot of direction, and now I’m working in sports. It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life and the rest of my career.”
Kravik described a moment during the spring semester of 2014 when Todd Chambers, now the associate dean for undergraduate affairs, sent her a vague text message, asking the DTI staff to come to his office.
“So, we all kind of headed up there,” Kravik said of the DTI crew. “I had no idea what he was going to say. I definitely didn’t think he was going to say that we got picked up for Fox Sports Southwest, and they wanted to air my show.”
Today, the Double T Insider is broadcasted on the network Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Kravik)
“That was the coolest moment,” Kravik said. “You never think something like that is going to happen. Then it does, and I can’t believe we’re here today.”
Last month, the senior received even more fortunate news.
Kravik said she had been following Chris DeRuyscher, the senior director of in-park entertainment for the Texas Rangers on Twitter, and he began following her back. They messaged several months ago, and DeRuyscher viewed several videos of Kravik hosting the DTI.
Between class and an MCTV broadcast Kravik was working, she received a phone call from DeRuyscher, asking her if she was interested in a in-game hosting job and inviting her to the ballpark.
Kravik hosts an exhibition game for the Texas Rangers last weekend in Arlington. (Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Kravik)
“I met Chuck Morgan, who had also seen all of my stuff and communicated that he wanted to start an in-game host, as well,” she said of the Rangers’ announcer. “He told me, ‘I think this would be a great stepping stone for you out of college. You’re very talented; we know we are going to lose you in two or three years.'”
Last weekend, Kravik hosted the exhibition games for the team, practicing for this weekend’s launch of the baseball season. Opening day begins today at 3:05 p.m., and Kravik will officially debut as the new host.
“It’s very nerve-racking, definitely different than anything I’ve ever done,” Kravik said. “Going live is something that’s very scary, especially when you can hear yourself so loudly, but I really enjoyed it.”
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