Ford Field Trip Gives Students Taste of Football Finals Broadcasting

By Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

December 7, 2021

DETROIT – An hour before kickoff of the first game of 11-Player Football Finals weekend – the Division 8 championship decider between Hudson and Beal City – Bally Sports Detroit announcers Evan Stockton and Rob Rubick were busy preparing to call the action from the television booth on the third level of Ford Field.

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.

Mount Pleasant SBPWith 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.)

2021-22 Broadcasts Kick Off with Big Football Weekend

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 24, 2021

Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools will be featured on more than 300 live-streamed broadcasts during this first full week of the 2021-22 school sports year, headlined by 16 broadcasts of opening-weekend football games on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network and partner Bally Sports Detroit.

Bally Sports Detroit will be providing coverage of all six games of the Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic from Oct. 26-28 at Wayne State University’s Tom Adams Field, including both Aug. 26 games on live cable television. All six Xenith games also will be available on the Bally Sports Detroit website and Bally Sports app.

Meanwhile, MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network will have live coverage of all six games from the Battle at the Big House at University of Michigan and all four games from the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic at Kettering University’s Atwood Stadium.

Here’s the schedule, with links to watch those games online:

Thursday, Aug. 26

► Battle at the Big House: Lapeer vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central – 12 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Battle at the Big House: Midland vs. Traverse City West – 3 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic: Dearborn Fordson vs. Canton – 4 p.m. – Bally Sports Detroit (also LIVE TV)

► Vehicle City Gridiron Classic: Frankenmuth vs. Goodrich – 4 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Battle at the Big House: DeWitt vs. Traverse City Central – 7 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic: Detroit Catholic Central vs. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley – 7 p.m. –  Bally Sports Detroit (also LIVE TV)

► Vehicle City Gridiron Classic: Flushing vs. Flint Powers Catholic – 7:30 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

Friday, Aug. 27

► Battle at the Big House: Midland Dow vs. Fenton – 12 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Battle at the Big House: Saline vs. Hudsonville – 3:30 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Vehicle City Gridiron Classic: East Lansing vs. Grand Blanc – 4 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic: Dexter vs. Birmingham Groves – 4 p.m. – MHSAA.tv (also available on BallySports.com/Detroit)

► Battle at the Big House: Clarkston vs. Davison – 7 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

► Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic: Chicago St. Patrick (Ill.) vs. Warren De La Salle Collegiate – 7 p.m. – MHSAA.tv (also available on BallySports.com/Detroit)

► Vehicle City Gridiron Classic: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Linden – 7:30 p.m. – MHSAA.tv

Saturday, Aug. 28

► Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic: River Rouge vs. Eastpointe – 1 p.m. – MHSAA.tv (also available on BallySports.com/Detroit)

► Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic: Southfield Arts & Technology vs. Detroit Cass Tech – 4 p.m. – MHSAA.tv (also available on BallySports.com/Detroit)

Total, more than 150 varsity football games, more than 100 varsity volleyball matches and nearly 90 varsity boys soccer contests will be available this week on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network, with production by participants in the School Broadcast 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. Click for a complete list of upcoming events.

Other intriguing football matchups appearing on the Network include (all 7 p.m. starts):

► Aug. 26: Sterling Heights Stevenson at Rockford

► Aug. 26: Saginaw Swan Valley at Cedar Springs

► Aug. 26: Utica Eisenhower at Lake Orion

► Aug. 26: Alpena at Marquette

► Aug. 26: Edwardsburg at Montague

► Aug. 27: Clarkston Everest Collegiate at Montrose

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a 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. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.