Puppy Bowl 2020 Production Coordinator Got Her Start At UMW

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A graduate of the University of Mary Washington will be serving as a production coordinator for Puppy Bowl XVI, which will air at 3 p.m. Sunday on Animal Planet when Team Ruff and Team Fluff face off in the two-hour event. Jordan Kyler, a 2014 UMW graduate, has been working for nearly a year on the show.

Kyler's Puppy Bowl schedule is a "non-stop rollercoaster," supporting teams of executives, producers and more, she told UMW. "Working on Puppy Bowl was my first big break into larger-scale productions," she said.

After earning a bachelor's degree in studio art at UMW, Kyler, who grew up in Staunton, received a master's in photographic and electronic media at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Along with serving as a production coordinator for Puppy Bowl XVI, Kyler has a contract to work as an associate producer on the National Geographic Wild show "Secrets of the Zoo." Since graduating, she has held similar jobs with Voice of America and PBS.

For this year's Puppy Bowl, Animal Planet expects to find homes for a record 96 dogs from 61 shelters that have been divided in two teams that will play, catch kisses on the Pedigree Kissing Cam and charm you as they compete for the Chewy "Lombarky" trophy in Puppy Bowl XVI.

The 96 puppies will face off at GEICO stadium, complete with commentators, instant-replays and a referee. Families adopting puppies during the game get a starter kit from Chewy, an online pet supply business. The kit includes toys, food, treats, a bed, and grooming and cleaning supplies.

As part of her production coordinator duties, Kyler used the graphic design skills she learned at UMW to design the sponsor banners around the Puppy Bowl XVI field, the university said.