It was shortly after 2:00 PM local time on Tuesday, Feb. 17 when Montclair State University students twice appeared on NBC’s Olympic coverage of women’s figure skating.
As individuals filed into the College of Communication and Media’s (CCOM) Presentation Hall for an Olympic watch party, fellow Red Hawk Olga Mikutina prepared to take the ice in Milan, Italy.
Montclair State student and Olympic figure skater Olga Mikutina was celebrated during two university watch parties on campus this week. CJ Staniec | The Montclarion
In the days leading up to the event, sports communication professor Bryan DeNovellis sparked an idea to support a fellow student competing alongside the world’s best.
“Honestly, I just got so caught up with Olga and her story,” said DeNovellis. “I started asking around, ‘Are we doing a watch party?’ And nobody knew anything. I said, ‘We should do one.'”
The event was strung together quickly by DeNovellis, alongside sports communication professor Stacy Gitlin and other CCOM staff, providing a panel discussion with former Olympians Alexei Beletski and Alena Arzamastseva, the latter having graduated from Montclair State last spring.
Pictured left to right are Professor Bryan DeNovellis, Alena Arzamastseva and Alexei Beletski. The latter two both participated in the Olympic Games and made guest appearances on a panel leading up to Olga Mikutina's short program. Photo courtesy of John LaRosa
“This was the ultimate team effort,” said DeNovellis. “There were so many faculty and staff working hard behind the scenes in a short period of time to make sure we not only pulled this thing off, but we did it right. Once the word got out about the watch party, it spread like wildfire.”
Mikutina, who participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics for Austria just 18 months before arriving at Montclair State, is once again back on figure skating’s largest stage. As she skated toward the center of the rink moments before her routine, the broadcast cut away to Montclair, New Jersey. On screen, a room full of proud Red Hawks cheered in support of their classmate.
“There were a lot of people who questioned whether the students would come,” said DeNovellis. “And when I saw Presentation Hall filled with students, with faculty, with deans, it was the coolest moment. I was in the back of the room, and I was fighting back tears.”
Students filled CCOM's Presentation Hall on Feb. 17 for Olga Mikutina's short skate program. The room was shown twice on NBC's broadcast of Olympic figure skating. Photo courtesy of Mike Peters
The audience was given plenty to cheer for. Mikutina, with an auditorium full of peers watching, completed a beautiful short program without interruption, immediately qualifying for the free skate routine the following Thursday.
“It’s a funny story, because I found Montclair [State] just on Google,” Mikutina told the Red Hawk Sports Network. “I searched for great schools in the U.S. with a good business major program. I found Montclair, and that it has an ice rink on campus. I was like, ‘cool, I’ll look into it.'”
Students once again gathered on Thursday, Feb. 19th for Mikutina’s final event. The free skate was another success for the Ukrainian native, and Olga exited the ice in Milan in second place.
Feb. 19's watch party at Montclair State shows the moment students applauded at the conclusion of classmate Olga Mikutina's free skate program, ending her 2026 Olympic performance. CJ Staniec | The Montclarion
“I don’t even know if Olga knew anything about this,” said DeNovellis. “I don’t think she did. But I guarantee when she comes back, and she sees how many fans she has now, she’s going to hopefully feel pretty good about this.”
Mikutina finished in eighteenth place in the 2026 Winter Olympic figure skating competition. She will now return to the United States and to Montclair State, where she will resume her studies and job at the IT desk on campus. Now, with the unwavering support and respect of her classmates.
“She’s going to know that there’s a whole community here that she never met before that are so happy with what she did,” DeNovellis said. “Representing her country and representing this university was something special. And she has a lot of new friends now, and a lot of people who may have never heard of her before, but they sure as hell know who she is now.”
