Bronco Spotlight: Matthew Van Dyke

Matthew Van Dyke didn’t arrive at Santa Clara expecting to work in sports. He grew up in Oakdale, California, and chose Santa Clara for its location, small-school feel, and a unique Web Design and Engineering major that combined computer science with art. But everything changed the summer before his junior year, when an Instagram post from Santa Clara Athletics looking for creative interns caught his eye.

“I decided to give it a shot and applied,” Van Dyke said. “I remember working my first game right when I got to campus my junior year. My job was to edit the halftime and final score graphics. I was still so new to Photoshop that I was trying to figure out how to edit the template during the game.”

That first night sparked a passion that would define the rest of his college experience—and launch his career. This summer, Van Dyke will join the Minnesota Vikings as a Graphic Design Associate, a leap he credits to the hands-on training and mentorship he found inside the Leavey Center.

Learning the Craft

When Van Dyke joined the creative team, he was still learning the basics. Over time, that changed. “When I first started, I was editing logos on video board graphics or refining my skill of player cutouts,” he said. “But throughout the end of my junior year and beginning of senior year, the creative freedom and skills I was taught started to increase to allow me to take on full graphic requests from start to finish.”

Working in sports also meant learning to move fast. “I was introduced to the fast-paced world that is working in sports—from quick deadlines to last-minute changes. It taught me to learn how to prioritize my graphic assignments in addition to covering games for photo and social, and managing my schoolwork at the same time.”

One of the most important lessons, he said, was understanding what it means to create for a brand. “When working for a team you are following a brand and a brand style that has been carefully crafted. Being able to talk about the decisions made in the Santa Clara Athletics branding and the story behind graphics we made definitely helped me in my interviews, but also made me a more confident designer.”

Projects That Made an Impact

Some of Van Dyke’s favorite work came from projects he pitched himself. “One of my favorite projects was our Sneakerhead Night campaign for men’s basketball,” he said. “I pitched the idea of creating a graphic for each player’s favorite sneaker—a way to show a new side to the player that wasn’t specifically about basketball. It was my first big project that I created the idea for, pitched the idea, and was able to execute.”

He also remembers the thrill of seeing his work recognized nationally. “My first SkullSparks feature was the ‘Good Luck From The Stampede’ graphic for men’s tennis,” he said. “I started to receive texts in my group chat with AJ (Tinio) and Carolyn (Burnett) where they were breaking the news to me and saying how proud they were, which made for a special moment at the end of senior year.”

Mentorship and Teamwork

For Van Dyke, the people were just as important as the projects. Over his two years with the creative team, he was taken under the wings of Director of Athletics Graphic Design, Carolyn Burnett, and Director of Digital Strategy, AJ Tinio. “AJ and Carolyn have become great mentors for me,” he said. “Carolyn the past two years has taught me everything I know about athletics graphic design and has put so much time into teaching me new skills or giving me feedback to help better my work. AJ is by far one of the most supportive people I know. When I told him I wanted to get into photography, he truly supported me through that journey of learning really quickly, but also trusted me to take on game coverage, media days, recruit shoots, and special events.”

The culture, he said, made all the difference. “The entire creative staff has been so supportive of my journey and never treated me like a typical ‘intern’ but as someone they trusted to send to away games, do game coverage by myself, or pitch new ideas whenever I had them.”

Memories That Last

Van Dyke’s time with Santa Clara Athletics is filled with moments he’ll never forget. “Hands down my favorite memory is traveling with the men’s basketball team and the whole creative team for March Madness,” he said. “It has become my favorite memory over my four years at SCU and was a great learning opportunity to get to create content for an event of that scale.”

He also remembers the first time he saw his motion graphics on the big screen in the Leavey Center. “I decided one day to learn After Effects and animate the videoboard matchup graphics I had created. The day of the game, I sat in the stands for a minute to take in seeing it up on the big screen. It was fun to see my bosses and the other creative staff be so happy when they saw it playing for the first time as well.”

What’s Next

After graduation, Van Dyke will start as a Graphic Design Associate for the Minnesota Vikings, working on everything from social graphics to environmental and print designs as part of the team’s Associate Leadership Development Program. “I think my internship and the support from Santa Clara Athletics set me up perfectly to take on this new role in Minnesota,” he said.

For students hoping to follow a similar path, his advice is simple: say yes. “I took every opportunity the department presented to me and tried to learn as much as I could from all the amazing professionals around me,” he said. “It’s important when you are creating to remember that you are helping to tell a story. The best graphics come from when you understand the story you are trying to tell.”