In adjunct lecturer Isaac Fowler’s sports documentary course at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students stepped into a process that felt less like a traditional class and more like a working production team.
Fowler and his students produced It’s Not About Me: A Rick Barnes Story, a documentary that explores UT men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes beyond the court. The film offers a never-before-seen look at the places and people that shaped him—from his hometown roots in Hickory, North Carolina, to key family relationships and pivotal turns in his coaching career.
The year-long documentary project taught the students involved that they weren’t just making a season recap, a highlight package, or a career timeline built around wins and losses. They were building a character-driven film—one that asked who Barnes is beyond the arena and how the values that shaped him continue to influence him today. The documentary also reflects how the School of Journalism and Media is giving students portfolio-level assignments grounded in professional expectations.
Watch It’s Not About Me: A Rick Barnes Story here
“Working on a project of this magnitude was a rare opportunity,” said Michael Graham, a rising senior majoring in journalism and media. “It confirmed for me that I made the right choice coming to this university for a hands-on experience unlike any other.”
Beyond Highlights: Learning the Documentary Process
For many on the team, documentary production was an unfamiliar medium. But a few students had brought with them prior documentary experience, including Graham and master’s student Daniel Hahofer (‘26), who just graduated with a concentration in journalism and media.
“After producing the documentary Bet on Me with Zakai Zeigler, I brought that sports documentary production experience into this film,” said Graham. “Isaac also made sure we had a clear process from the start, so the project stayed organized and focused.”
The students entered the process thinking like sports media makers and left thinking like long-form storytellers. During the fall 2025 semester, students in the course learned the fundamentals of documentary craft: storyboarding, mapping narrative arcs, and constructing “paper cuts”—those rough, interview-led edits that help filmmakers find structure long before the final visuals are in place.
“Seeing the documentary process up close was eye-opening,” said Mikayla Poteet (‘26), a College of Communication and Information alumna. “Building a 30-minute documentary took a full year, and we were intentional about telling Barnes’s story.”
The work demanded patience and precision, and students described it as unlike anything they’d done before, expanding their skills and understanding of what compelling storytelling requires.
“I came to UT without a clear idea of what I wanted to pursue, but opportunities like this, especially through The Media Center, helped me find my direction,” Hahofer said. “My role in this documentary was largely archival and research-based, but it was still an unexpected, hands-on experience that showed me how a documentary really comes together.”
A Collaboration That Opened Doors—and Raised the Standard
The documentary is a window into the power of collaboration at UT to expand what students can do—especially when classroom storytelling connects directly with the access, schedules, and professional expectations of high-level athletics. This film is a collaboration between the School of Journalism and Media, Tennessee Athletics, and The Media Center in the College of Communication and Information.
This is the second documentary produced in Fowler’s course, following Hunter, which chronicles the life of baseball standout Hunter Ensley. Hunter was recently honored with a “Best of Festival” award at the Broadcast Education Association awards ceremony in Las Vegas in April 2026 and also received two Telly Awards, including a Silver Telly (Student—Film & Shorts) and a Bronze Telly (Professional—Documentary).
Fowler emphasized the significance of the collaboration and the trust behind it.
“It’s a tremendous honor to produce this project on Rick Barnes,” Fowler said. “This is a unique collaboration between Tennessee Athletics, the School of Journalism and Media, and the College of Communication and Information’s Media Center.”
How Students Built the Story Through Interviews
That structure—and the expectations that came with it—translated into ambitious reporting. The team conducted more than 20 interviews with subjects including Barnes, members of his family, and former players. They also traveled to Texas to interview Kelvin Sampson, head coach of the University of Houston Cougars, and to Hickory, North Carolina, to interview Barnes’s family.
“Flying to Texas to interview high-level leaders like Kelvin Sampson was a huge opportunity,” Poteet said. “Isaac prepared us thoroughly and helped us stay mindful of what we wanted to cover—his biggest advice was simply to be curious.”
Allie Campbell (‘26) specifically pointed out that Fowler emphasized the importance of interview preparation, especially when the interview subject is a high-profile coach.
“We interviewed more than 20 people—family members, former staff, players, and people from places that shaped him, from Hickory to Houston,” Campbell said. “We weren’t trying to retell what everyone already knows. We built a three-act story through research and interviews, focusing on fresh perspectives that show who Barnes is beyond the spotlight.”
The Story Beyond the Court
Even with a central figure whose public identity is defined by basketball, Fowler emphasized that the film’s heart is elsewhere.
“This documentary explores themes beyond the court: grief, adversity, hard work, and finding true fulfillment,” Fowler said.
Students said the documentary was designed to hold multiple threads at once: basketball, Barnes’s personal history, and the faith that informs his life and leadership. Storyboarding sessions forced the team to balance basketball, personal, and faith-based aspects rather than letting the film become only about the sport.
“There’s so much more to him than accolades,” Graham said. “Once you get past the wins and the résumé, you realize how much of his story is about character. There’s something deeply inspiring about Barnes’s story—a real rags-to-riches arc. He came from a difficult childhood in Hickory, North Carolina, and achieved tremendous success, but what matters most to him is his family and his faith.”
Student-Led Storytelling from Day One
Fowler pointed to what made the documentary distinctly student-driven: responsibility wasn’t saved for the final weeks of the semester—it started immediately.
“From day one, students were responsible for forming the story and producing and shooting interviews,” Fowler said.
That ownership shaped how the team reported and revised. As interviews unfolded, students said they had to stay flexible—letting new information reshape the film’s direction instead of forcing every moment to fit an early outline. They also intentionally chased details audiences couldn’t just find online, including Barnes’s philanthropic work and the theme that emerged as central to the story: “it’s not about me,” tied to giving back.
But students also learned that access creates pressure. Interviewing an active head coach required working around a demanding schedule, making key storytelling decisions as time windows opened and closed. And once the reporting was complete, the most demanding work still remained: post-production.
“Interviewing an active head coach came with challenges,” Campbell said. “Coordinating an interview based on his busy schedule was one challenge but we also had to interview him back in October, even though we were still shaping the documentary—normally you’d interview the main subject later.”
Students repeatedly described the edit as the grind—moving from paper cuts to full sequences, tightening structure, and revising until emotional beats landed. At the same time, the team tracked down archival photos and video by reaching out to people and institutions, adding another layer of complexity to both storytelling and pacing.
The Final Cut: Storytelling Skills that Open Professional Doors
The opportunity to tell the story of a sports legend left a lasting impact on the students involved. Students said the project strengthened their desire to pursue filmmaking and documentary work, in part because it produced real material they could point to professionally. They also highlighted the niche skills that producing this documentary taught them—interviewing from behind the camera, building narrative structure, and learning how to make a story land emotionally with an audience.
“UT is a hands-on school, and the resources here make a difference,” Hahofer said. “Classes with Edward J. Meeman Distinguished Professor of Practice Gene Wojciechowski and Assistant Professor Shannon Scovel gave us tools we could apply directly to this documentary—and beyond.”
“UT has strengthened my sports media knowledge and given me real tools to succeed,” Poteet said. “Producing this documentary while also covering the 2026 Paralympics for USA Today in the same semester says a lot about the opportunities available through the College of Communication and Information.”
And in Fowler’s view, the goal was always bigger than finishing a film—it was an opportunity to produce a piece of work that connects with audiences across the board.
Fowler shared, “We set out to make a film that means something to someone, and I think audiences of Tennessee fans, college basketball fans, and anyone facing the challenges of life will find an inspirational message.”