INDIANAPOLIS — Sports journalism students at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will have a rare opportunity to cover the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Frank Gogola and Rebecca Harris, graduate students in the Sports Capital Journalism Program in the School of Liberal Arts’ Department of Journalism and Public Relations, will write stories for USA Daily, a digital newsletter produced by the United States Olympic Committee during the Rio Games.

The students arrived today in Rio. Malcolm Moran, Sports Capital Journalism Program director, accompanied the students and will oversee their work.

Unlike the majority of college students involved in Olympics-related journalism initiatives, Gogola and Harris will receive the same credentials as professional media covering the games.

“The biggest value of the opportunity is the fact that the students will be doing some of the same things that any professional journalist would do at the Olympics,” Moran said. “They have the same credential to get into virtually any venue, and they will be covering events. They are not just writing stories about what it’s like to be there while the Olympics are going on.”

“It is a rare opportunity to get to do this at their age and stage of development,” Moran said.

Gogola and Harris will receive their assignments from editors of the United States Olympic Committee website and USA Daily. The assignments will be determined by how the competition goes and where the stories are, Moran said.

Gogola and Harris will tweet their sports stories and blog posts using the Twitter feed @SportsCapJour.

“The Sports Capital Journalism program not only sends Gogola and Harris to Rio, but it sends students to cover top sporting events across the country,” said Liberal Arts Major Gifts Officer Liz Goodfellow. “Gifts to the program can help launch students’ careers into accessing high-level internships and positions. Individuals can help make that difference.”

Earlier this year, students from the program covered the College Football Playoff games and the men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments.

To contribute to the Sports Capital Journalism program, contact Goodfellow via lgoodfel@iu.edu or 317-274-1496.

(Editor’s note: Frank Gogola and Rebecca Harris will be available for interviews during the three weeks they will be covering the Olympics. They can talk about the experiences of covering a monumental sporting event as students, which is extremely rare, but also provide insights into competitive events they are writing about. The best way to contact the students is through email: moranma@indiana.edu.)