UIT Springs into Action at Cardinal and White Game

Spring is in the air for Stanford football, but the players aren't the only ones gearing up for the 2018 season. University IT (UIT) is also warming up for its role in supporting the Cardinal's season.

Stanford football held its annual Cardinal and White Spring Game on April 14, a pre-preseason scrimmage that featured new and veteran players giving their faithful fans a glimpse of what they will see in the upcoming campaign. Right there on the sidelines — though clearly less noticeable to those fans — was UIT’s Installation and Maintenance (I&M) crew.

Though UIT provides Stanford Athletics important technical support for most of its sporting events, Stanford football requires a coaches’ communications system that is critical to real-time game operation.

That system — set up and maintained by UIT’s I&M team — consists of hands-free, wireless headsets and beltpacks that allow over 20 members of the football staff to communicate with each other from all over the stadium.

“Game-time college football is incredibly dynamic and requires a real time, unfailing communication capability for coaches and players,” said Rocco Petrunti, manager of the I&M team. “Our headsets allow the coaches to share information as the game is changing. My team's role is to ensure those communications are seamless — on the field, in the press box, and in the coach’s booth.

Petrunti brings more than 25 years of experience to the field and is on a first-name basis with the coaches and players. Just last year, he and the I&M team traveled with Stanford football to Sydney, Australia to support a preseason game against Rice University and to San Antonio, Texas for the Alamo Bowl game against Texas Christian University (TCU). For Petrunti, the Cardinal and White game is especially exciting because it’s part of the “Cardinalpalooza,” an annual Stanford sports festival. 

“My team and I are excited to play a role in the Stanford football program,” said Petrunti. “The preparation and travel, the game-time highs and lows, the wins and the losses — we love being part of the experience and providing quality service that contributes to the team’s success.”

The rest of UIT shares the same sentiment as Petrunti and looks forward to the 2018 season ahead. Go Cardinal

Learn more

• Watch the Cardinal and White Spring Game highlight video.
• Read The Stanford Daily's post game article.
• Read how UIT supported Stanford football in Sydney, Australia in August 2017.