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.)
MHSAA.tv Schedule Filled with 400+ Live Events
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 14, 2021
More than 400 events will be broadcast live this week on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network, including a season high of nearly 170 football games.
Highlighting this week’s Network football schedule are a pair of Division 1 matchups with potential league title implications. In the Saginaw Valley League Red, reigning champion Davison hosts Grand Blanc, while in the Macomb Area Conference Red reigning co-champion Macomb Dakota hosts Clinton Township Chippewa Valley.
The Bally Sports Detroit broadcast team this week will travel to Thirlby Field in Traverse City for the annual “Patriot Game” between Central and West. The game regularly draws more than 10,000 fans and honors U.S. military veterans, active-duty military, first responders and more area heroes who have died serving our country. Bally will present the game live at 7 p.m. on its Bally Sports Detroit PLUS cable channel and also on its website and app.
A pair of Thursday (Sept. 16) volleyball matches feature recent state powers, as reigning Division 1 champion Bloomfield Hills Marian takes on 2019 champ Farmington Hills Mercy, and reigning Division 2 champ Grand Rapids Christian faces last season’s Division 1 runner-up Lowell. In boys soccer, undefeated Grand Rapids South Christian hosts Ada Forest Hills Eastern also on Thursday, with Novi also looking to stay unbeaten while welcoming Plymouth.
Online viewers should keep in mind that the only sites that livestream MHSAA events are the NFHS Network (MHSAA.tv), Bally Sports Detroit (one game per week), State Champs! Sports Network (one game per week), or a school-controlled website (on a school YouTube or Facebook page, for example). There are many scams that advertise livestreams and are phishing for personal information. Some even attempt to install malware on computers or devices. If viewers see a link to a game that is not on one of the providers listed above, it is fake. If unsure, viewers should contact the host school or MHSAA before providing personal information.
Below are listings and links to just a few of the events of note this week on MHSAA.tv:
VOLLEYBALL
Sept. 16: Lowell at Grand Rapids Christian, 6 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 16: Farmington Hills Mercy at Bloomfield Hills Marin, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 16: Centreville at Bloomingdale, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
All volleyball matches this week (170+ matches): MHSAA.tv
BOYS SOCCER
Sept. 16: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at East Grand Rapids, 6:45 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 16: Ada Forest Hills Eastern at Grand Rapids South Christian, 6:45 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 16: Plymouth at Novi, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
All soccer games this week (80+ games): MHSAA.tv
FOOTBALL
Sept. 17: Traverse City Central vs. Traverse City West at Thirlby Field, 7 p.m.: Bally Sports Detroit PLUS, BSD Website and app
Sept: 17 Davison at Grand Blanc, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 17: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley at Macomb Dakota, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 17: St. Louis at Hemlock, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 17: Kingsford at Marquette, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
Sept. 17 Brighton at Novi, 7 p.m.: MHSAA.tv
All football games this week (170+ games): MHSAA.tv
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
More than 400 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 13th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.