Chris Webber will teach in Wake Forest’s new ‘sports storytelling’ program
One of the NBA’s most culturally aware retired stars and most visible announcers is about to take on a new role — college professor. Wake Forest University revealed Monday that five-time All-Star and current Turner Sports announcer Chris Webber will teach a class in the school’s new “sports storytelling” master’s program set to begin in fall 2016.
Wake Forest revealed details of the two-year master of arts program earlier this week. Webber’s title will be “Professor of Practice” (practice?!). The Associated Press has the story:
Webber will be a professor of practice in the program that is part of the university’s documentary film program. He will teach a class on sports, race and society.
Webber was part of Michigan’s ”Fab Five” in the early 1990s, made five All-Star teams during his 15-year NBA career and now works as a television analyst. He formed a production company in 2012 with ”Hoop Dreams” producer Peter Gilbert – who’s also a professor of practice in the university’s documentary film program.
The official announcement from Wake Forest has more, including a few quotes from Webber and Gilbert:
“If we’re going to understand ourselves as a society, we have to understand sports, its culture and how it affects us every day,” said Peter Gilbert, a DFP professor and Emmy award-winning director and producer whose Oscar-nominated documentary, “Hoop Dreams,” won every major critics prize and journalism award in 1995. “Sports storytelling students will graduate with the expertise to tell the stories behind the stories of the 24/7 news cycle — the ones that fuel conversations.” […]
“I’m excited to bring real-life experience to the program. Sports are my passion and telling stories about sports is my new career,” said Webber. “I’ve been involved with the NBA for nearly 25 years, and I understand firsthand how sports, business, race, gender and economics mesh. Sports storytelling gives us a platform to explore these issues in an academic setting. I’m looking forward to not only sharing my own experiences, but learning from students how sports has had an impact on their own lives.” […]
“There are programs in sports journalism and sports marketing and sports media production, but Wake Forest’s storytelling program will focus on the academic connections between sports and culture. Several Wake Forest communications professors including Ron Von Burg and John Llewellyn are committed to working with the DFP to create a program with challenging coursework that will prepare graduates for careers from long-form documentary film creation to storytelling across multiple platforms such as short films, mobile apps and websites,” said Jones. “We are excited to offer a program that provides a way to look deeply at and truly engage in the societal issues surrounding all sports for all age groups.”
There has been a surge in the academic study of sports in recent years, whether through its aesthetics or more culturally focused work like that of Michigan professor and NBA Twitter fixture Yago Colas (who is about to publish a new book on basketball culture with a familiar name). The Wake Forest program seems more focused on the former with a concentration in applying that study to media projects.
Webber should prove a good fit. The 42-year-old is the son of an educator (his mother taught special needs children in Detroit), and he has been involved in sports-related media since his retirement. Plus, Webber has many other interests, including a collection of African-American artifacts large enough to have been exhibited on several occasions. It would be difficult to find anyone else at the intersection of so many aspects of this program.
We wish Webber good luck in his new position. Maybe he can bring Wake Forest alum Tim Duncan back to campus to teach students about the relationship between basketball and customizing cars.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
