Students in the Sports Media Studies program at East Texas A&M, as well as members of the wider campus community, had a chance to meet with a special guest last week as Thaddeus D. Matula spent a day in Commerce for a film screening and Q&A session.

An Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, Matula has directed both scripted and documentary films and series. A graduate of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas and the son of a former SMU professor, Matula partnered with ESPN to direct “Pony Excess,” a documentary covering the 1980s SMU Football recruitment scandal and the infamous “death penalty” that stunted the university's football program for decades.

Upon its premiere in 2010, “Pony Excess” was the final and highest-rated entry in the original run of ESPN's “30 for 30” series, comprised of 30 sports documentaries on different subjects by 30 filmmakers. Matula's other works include “Brian and the Boz,” another “30 for 30” film, in 2014, and “Revolutions Daughter,” a 2026 film detailing the life of Fidel Castro's daughter, who escaped Cuba and rebuilt her life in Miami. The latter film was awarded the Laurels for Achievement in Documentary at the Miami Film Festival.

Matula visited with Sports Media Studies students and a few invited guests on the morning of Nov. 5, detailing his experiences and things he learned while covering the SMU football scandal, a topic that hit close to home for him.

The afternoon saw a screening of “Pony Express” open to the campus community in the Talbot Hall of Languages, followed by a Q&A session. Some of the most pressing questions concerned how a filmmaker can remain impartial even when they are personally invested in the story.

“It can be difficult, but it's an important part of storytelling,” Matula said. “In making ‘Pony Excess,' I didn't want this to turn into an ‘oh, poor us' thing. I wanted the audience to come to their own conclusions about the events.”

Matula added after the event that he enjoys speaking about filmmaking to college students and sharing his passion. He said that no matter the audience size, it's important to give it your all.

“I tell crews I work with that we are making someone's favorite movie,” Matula said. “It might be just one person, it might be thousands, but what we create will be special to someone. I find that very motivating.”

Addison Byrd, a student who attended the event, said the event gave her insight into documentary filmmaking and the importance of interview skills.

“I really enjoyed meeting a real director and talking with him about what it’s like to work on documentaries,” Byrd said. “I got the chance to talk a little bit about interviewing strategies with him and get advice on how to ask quality questions to interviewees. I’m grateful for the experience.”

Dr. Robert Rodriguez, professor and coordinator of the Sports Media Studies program, said the experience was beneficial in showing students the many paths available to them in the sports media landscape, as well as showing them what a successful professional looks like

“Since I began working at ETAMU in 2010, I have utilized my network of personal contacts, mostly in the sports world, to bring high-profile speakers to Commerce in an effort to provide our students similar types of experiences,” Rodriguez said. “I have long known the impact the opportunity to meet and hear from such high-caliber individuals can have on students.”

Interested in pursuing a degree in Sports Media Studies? Contact Dr. Robert Rodriguez for more information.