During the U.S. vice presidential debate last fall, millions of viewers saw a stage with two politicians and a moderator on their televisions. Behind the scenes, a small Kentucky college had to build a temporary network deployment that could support two presidential campaigns, a U.S. Secret Service contingent and more than 3,000 reporters.

When Centre College in Danville, Ken., was selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host the vice presidential debate, it turned to