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.)
Volleyball Districts Open on MHSAA TV
November 2, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
The volleyball postseason begins tonight, with broadcasts of 60 District openers viewable on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.
The following will be broadcast online during the first two days of the MHSAA Girls Volleyball District Tournament:
Monday - Nov. 2
Marquette vs. Alpena - 6 PM
Burton Bendle vs. Otisville LakeVille - 5 PM
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Kalamazoo Hackett - 5 PM
Lansing Waverly vs. DeWitt - 5 PM
Livonia Churchill vs. Garden City - 5 PM
Ludington vs. Manistee - 5 PM
Plainwell vs. Paw Paw - 5 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Dowagiac Union - 5 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. Hartland - 5 PM
Leslie vs. East Jackson - 5:15 PM
Battle Creek Pennfield vs. Three Rivers - 5:30 PM
Brethren vs. Mason County Eastern - 5:30 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Monroe St. Mary's Catholic Central - 5:30 PM
Morley Stanwood vs. Beal City - 5:30 PM
Niles Brandywine vs. Hartford - 5:30 PM
Vassar vs. Montrose - 5:30 PM
Lowell vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills - 5:55 PM
Bridgeport vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill - 6 PM
Brighton vs. South Lyon East - 6 PM
Caro vs. Frankenmuth - 6 PM
Clarkston Everest Collegiate vs. Oakland Christian - 6 PM
Clawson vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 6 PM
Dryden vs. Kimball New Life Christian Academy - 6 PM
Durand vs. Flint Powers Catholic - 6 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central - 6 PM
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker vs. Cass City - 6 PM
Fulton vs. Portland St. Patrick - 6 PM
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Vermontville Maple Valley - 6 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Linden - 6 PM
Grand Traverse Academy vs. Traverse City St. Francis - 6 PM
Harrison vs. Beaverton - 6 PM
Lake Orion vs. Waterford Kettering - 6 PM
Macomb Lutheran North vs. Armada - 6 PM
Marian vs. Royal Oak - 6 PM
Rock Mid Peninsula vs. Rapid River - 6 PM
Shelby vs. Mason County Central - 6 PM
Warren Woods-Tower vs. Harrison Twp. L'Anse Creuse - 6 PM
Buchanan vs. Edwardsburg - 6:30 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Livonia Franklin - 6:30 PM
Grand Ledge vs. East Lansing - 6:30 PM
Big Rapids vs. Reed City - 7 PM
Croswell-Lexington vs. North Branch - 7 PM
Battle Creek Harper Creek vs. Constantine - 7 PM
Michigan Center vs. Lumen Christi Catholic - 7 PM
Northville vs. Novi - 7 PM
Onekama vs. Bear Lake - 7 PM
Sanford Meridian vs. Farwell - 7 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Western - 7 PM
Williamston vs. Owosso - 7 PM
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep vs. Ottawa Lake Whiteford - 7 PM
Munising vs. Eben Junction Superior Central - 7:30 PM
Reese vs. Saginaw Valley Lutheran - 7:30 PM
Tuesday - Nov. 3
Allen Park Cabrini vs. Taylor Preparatory - 5 PM
Benzie Central vs. TBA - 5 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Chesterfield Austin Catholic - 5 PM
Frankfort vs. Lake Leelanau St. Mary - 6 PM
Cadillac vs. TBA - 7 PM
Escanaba vs. Kingsford - 7 PM
Houghton vs. Gladstone - 7 PM
New Haven Merritt Academy vs. Marine City Cardinal Mooney Catholic - 7 PM