6 Days of Hoops on MHSAA TV
March 15, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
An unprecedented six straight days of MHSAA Girls and Boys Basketball Tournament coverage will take place this week on MHSAA.tv and FOX Sports Detroit.
The week starts out with three days of Boys Regional and Girls Quarterfinal coverage produced by participants in the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program.
The championship live streaming this week begins at 1 p.m. Thursday with the first of two Class C Semifinal games in the Girls Basketball Tournament, and concludes on Saturday when FOX Sports Detroit will provide coverage for the 19th consecutive year. The boys coverage includes two reigning champions – Flint Beecher in Class C and Powers North Central in Class D. Here’s the complete video basketball schedule for the coming week:
Monday – Class D Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
Fulton v. Baldwin – 6 p.m.
Big Rapids Crossroads Academy v. Muskegon Catholic Central – 7:45 p.m.
Monday – Class C Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals at Flint Hamady
Southfield Christian vs. Sandusky – 6 p.m.
Flint Beecher v. Detroit Cornerstone Health/Technology – 7:30 p.m.
Monday – Class D Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals at Negaunee
Powers North Central v. Lake Linden-Hubbell – 6 p.m.
Crystal Falls Forest Park v. Rock Mid Peninsula – 8 p.m.
Tuesday – Class A Girls Basketball Quarterfinal at Fenton
Port Huron Northern v. St. Johns – 7 p.m.
Tuesday – Class B Girls Basketball Quarterfinal at Fowlerville
Grand Rapids South Christian v. Dearborn Heights Robichaud – 7 p.m.
Tuesday – Class D Girls Basketball Quarterfinal at Negaunee
Newberry v. Stephenson – 7 p.m.
Wednesday – Boys Basketball Regional Finals
Class D at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart – 7 p.m.
Class C at Flint Hamady – 7 p.m.
Class D at Negaunee – 7 p.m.
The boys basketball games at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart are being produced by the School Broadcast Program at the Mt. Pleasant Tech Center. The games at Flint Hamady are being produced by the SBP at Flint Kearsley; and the games at Negaunee are being produced by Negaunee High School. The Girls Basketball Quarterfinal at Fenton is being produced by the SBP at Montrose High School, and Haslett High School is producing the game at Fowlerville.
Thursday – Class C Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
Niles Brandywine/Grand Rapids Covenant Christian winner v. Traverse City St. Francis/St. Ignace winner – 1 p.m.
Flint Hamady/Ithaca winner v. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep/Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett winner – 2:50 p.m.
Thursday – Class D Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian/Pittsford winner v. Waterford Our Lady/Kingston winner – 6 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart/Gaylord St. Mary winner v. Newberry/Stephenson winner – 7:50 p.m.
Friday – Class A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
Ann Arbor Huron/Detroit M.L. King winner v. Port Huron Northern/St. Johns winner – 1 p.m.
Northville/Warren Cousino winner v. East Lansing/Hudsonville winner – 2:50 p.m.
Friday – Class B Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
Detroit Mumford/Detroit Country Day winner v. Grand Rapids South Christian/Dearborn Heights Robichaud winner – 6 p.m.
Bay City John Glenn/Manistee winner v. Marshall/Grand Rapids Catholic Central winner – 7:50 p.m.
Saturday – Finals – FOX Sports Detroit – All games streamed live on FOX Sports Go!
10 a.m. – Class D – LIVE
Noon – Class A – LIVE
4 p.m. – Class C – LIVE
10 p.m. – Class B – Same Day Delay
In addition, there will be free live video streams of all postgame press conferences, the postgame award ceremonies, the 3-Point and Free Throw Shooter’s Challenges and the presentation of the Miss Basketball Award by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. The FOX Sports Detroit telecasts also will be posted on MHSAA.tv for on demand viewing following each contest.
The continued Basketball coverage is part of six straight weekends of live MHSAA Championship coverage on MHSAA.tv, and online viewers can catch every weekend of action for one low cost of $14.95.
A Month Pass on MHSAA.tv for $14.95 will give a viewer access to events over a 30-day period from the time it is purchased. Over the next two weeks of live winter championship coverage, the following events will be featured:
- Boys Basketball Regionals – March 14-16
- Girls Basketball Quarterfinals – March 15
- Girls Basketball Semifinals – March 17-18
- Boys Basketball Quarterfinals – March 22
- Boys Basketball Semifinals – March 24-25
A Day Pass is available for $9.95. All events will be available for free on-demand viewing by three days following their initial live airing.
The School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
Ford Field Trip Gives Students Taste of Football Finals Broadcasting
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
December 7, 2021
Four levels above them, in the press box, a group of prospective broadcasters were touring the facilities. The high school students had spent the Fall sports season streaming games to the NFHS Network and now were learning about a career in broadcasting from Eric Vandefifer, a Montrose High grad currently serving as the radio voice of Saginaw Valley State University basketball and as a contributor to a variety of high school broadcast channels including the MHSAA Network.
Seven years ago, Vandefifer was in a similar situation. He was part of a field trip to Ford Field for the Finals that helped him realize sports broadcasting was a career he wanted to pursue. Those field trips were headed by Tom Skinner and Thom Lengyel, who became mentors to Vandefifer. As a high school junior in 2017, Vandefifer was named Best Student Broadcaster nationally by the NFHS Network.
“With Tom Skinner now deceased and Thom Lengyel retired from the broadcast business, I just felt like I had to continue this and their legacy,” Vandefifer said. “It was important to me to keep it going because when I was in school, it was something I looked forward to.”
Nearly 50 students from Lowell, Montrose, Lake Orion, Mount Pleasant and Ann Arbor Greenhills high schools made the Nov. 26-27 trip to Ford Field. They were able to film highlights, interview players, practice announcing the games, meet other members of the press and more. For Vandefifer, giving back to students who are in the position he once was is very rewarding.
“We had the ability to feel like real media members for a day. I wanted to be able to give other students that same opportunity,” Vandefifer said. “Seeing kids who have a love for sportscasting and that drive to get better gives me real hope for the next generation in this business.”
And after the field trips were done each day, Vandefifer put his headphones on, got behind the microphone and called the two afternoon games for the MHSAA Championship Network.
PHOTOS (Top) Eighth grader Sam Belill, left, and freshman Owen Leitelt from Montrose practice calling a game from the Ford Field press box. (Middle) Mount Pleasant make a stop at the press conference room. (Photos provided by the Montrose and Mount Pleasant School Broadcast Programs.)