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.)
Mat Action Abounds on MHSAA TV
March 3, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
The mats in Grand Rapids and Detroit will get a workout this weekend with live streaming video on MHSAA.tv both Friday and Saturday (March 6-7), with NFHS Network coverage of the MHSAA Girls Competitive Cheer and Individual Wrestling Finals.
This will be the second of five straight weekends of Winter championship activity, which also will include more than 100 District games from the Girls Basketball Tournament and the final week of the regular season in boys basketball.
The Competitive Cheer coverage on MHSAA.tv begins at 6 p.m. Friday from the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids. Here’s the complete schedule:
Friday – March 6
- 6 PM – Division 1 - Brighton, Grand Blanc, Hartland, Lake Orion, Plymouth, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Utica Eisenhower
Saturday – March 7
- 10 AM – Division 2 - Allen Park, Cedar Springs, Charlotte, DeWitt, Gibraltar Carlson, Muskegon Mona Shores, Southgate Anderson, Walled Lake Western
- 2 PM – Division 4 - Addison, Adrian Madison, East Jordan, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, Hudson, Munising, Pewamo-Westphalia, St. Charles
- 6 PM – Division 3 - Berrien Springs, Comstock Park, Croswell-Lexington, Escanaba, Paw Paw Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Onsted, Richmond
At Ford Field, there will be 20 mats providing 1,680 bouts over two days from the Individual Wrestling Finals. Here’s the round-by-round schedule:
Friday – March 6
- 11:30 AM – First Round – Championship Bracket
- 2:45 PM – Second Round – Consolation Bracket (Round may begin earlier if time allows)
- 4:15 PM – Third Round – Quarterfinal Bracket (Round may begin earlier if time allows)
- 6 PM – Fourth Round – Blood Round-Consolation Bracket (Round may begin earlier if time allows)
- 7:30 PM – Fifth Round – Semifinal Round-Championship Bracket (Semifinals will not begin early)
Saturday – March 7
- 9 AM – Sixth Round – Consolation Bracket
- 10 AM – Seventh Round – Consolation Bracket (Round may begin earlier if time allows)
- 11 AM – Eighth Round – Medal Round – Consolation Bracket (Round may begin earlier if time allows)
- 3:30 PM – Ninth Round – Finals – Championship Bracket (Finals will not begin early)
Over the remainder of the Winter season, MHSAA.tv will have live final round coverage of the following:
- Ice Hockey Semifinals & Finals – March 12-13-14
- L.P. Boys Swimming & Diving Finals – March 14
- Girls Basketball Quarterfinals & Semifinals – March 17, 19-20
- Girls Basketball Quarterfinals & Semifinals – March 24, 26-27
You always can reach a list of the upcoming tournament games by Clicking Here. Fans can purchase a Month Pass to watch on the NFHS Network for $10.99.
Subscribers will have access to all live video across the country for 30 days. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live.