Alumnus Wins Trio of Sports Emmy® Awards for Work with Red Bulls

St. John’s University taught Anthony Ingrassia ’05CCPS the technical skills needed to become an award-winning broadcast producer. But it did not end there, he said.

The University also cultivated in Mr. Ingrassia the leadership and teamwork skills that helped him win three Sports Emmy^® Awards recently from the New York chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

“In this field, there are a lot of group projects,” Mr. Ingrassia said. “In my broadcast production classes, we regularly leaned on each other for help. We were learning together and it was great preparation for the industry I work in now.”

Mr. Ingrassia, who works for Red Bull New York, parent company of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, won his first three broadcast Emmy^® Awards on September 23. Leading a team of editors and production assistants, he was recognized for excellence in Best Single Shot sports commercial, Best Sports Interview or Discussion, and Best Human Interest sports story.

The awards are the capstone of Mr. Ingrassia’s two-decade career in broadcast production, which has also included stops at the production company Media Squared, Inc. and at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment Global, the media production arm of the Brooklyn Nets.

“By the time I graduated from St. John’s, I knew I wanted to be in production,” Mr. Ingrassia recalled. “This is a great honor, and I am proud of my team.” 

As Executive Producer, Video, for Red Bull, Mr. Ingrassia manages a six-person team of content creators, who share team news and information with the public. Videos extend beyond game highlights to include short-form social media, player and fan profiles, and all-access content.

In winning for a short-form video commercial, long-form human interest story, and an extended series of player interviews, Mr. Ingrassia said his team demonstrated its diverse production skills. 

The Best Single Shot commercial is less than a minute long and introduces the public to the team’s new alternate uniform. The Best Sports Discussion follows Swedish-born Red Bulls midfielder Emil Forsberg through three seven-minute interviews, where he elaborated on his playing career, relocating to New York, and his goals for the Red Bulls. 

Lastly, the Best Human Interest Story tells of young Archer Carson, who, while on the autism spectrum, has emerged as the team’s superfan. Chronicling Archer’s relationship with the team was especially meaningful to Mr. Ingrassia, as the video highlights the team’s efforts to broaden the fan experience for those with neurosensitivity issues. 

“You learn about Archer’s diagnosis of autism, but also how he was able to be exposed to a match-day experience,” Mr. Ingrassia said. “For years, we have had Autism Acceptance Night, where music levels are lower and there are no pyrotechnics. It is a more subdued game presentation that caters to their sensory needs.”