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.)
Catch 33 District Openers on MHSAA TV
March 2, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
More than 100 games in the District round of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament this week will have live streaming video on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.
The games will be produced by MHSAA members participating in the School Broadcast Program, either with traditional student crews or by Pixellot, the NFHS Network’s automated production solution.
Here’s the complete schedule for the opening night of the tournament, March 2:
- District 1 Non-Traditional Bracket - Petoskey v. Marquette - 6 PM
- District 4 At Grand Blanc - Davison v. Flint Kearsley - 6 PM
- District 5 At Waterford Kettering - Rochester Adams v. Oxford - 5 PM; Romeo v. Clarkston 6:30 PM
- District 6 At Bloomfield Hills - Bloomfield Hills v. West Bloomfield - 5 PM
- District 7 At White Lake Lakeland - Milford v. Walled Lake Western - 7 PM
- District 8 At Holly - Fenton v. Hartland - 6 PM
- District 13 At Stevensville Lakeshore - Kalamazoo Central v. Portage Northern - 5:30 PM; St. Joseph v. Portage Central 7:30 PM
- District 17 At Brighton - Dexter v. Pinckney - 5 PM; South Lyon v. Brighton - 7 PM
- District 26 At Bloomfield Hills Marian - Southfield A&T v. Birmingham Groves 5:30 PM; Birmingham Seaholm v. Bloomfield Hills Marian - 7:15PM
- District 31 At St. Clair Shores Lake Shore – Fraser v. St. Clair Shores Lakeview – 6 PM
- District 32 At Macomb L'Anse Creuse North - New Baltimore Anchor Bay v. Macomb Dakota 6 PM
- District 35 At Cadillac - Cadillac v. Ludington - 6 PM; Manistee v. Big Rapids 8 PM
- District 40 At Chesaning - Corunna v. Chesaning - 6 PM
- District 42 At Fremont - Comstock Park v. Howard City Tri County - 6 PM; Newaygo v. Fremont - 7:30 PM
- District 48 At Plainwell - Plainwell v. Parchment - 5:30 PM; Paw Paw v. Battle Creek Harper Creek - 7:30 PM
- District 69 At Maple City Glen Lake - Elk Rapids v. Maple City Glen Lake 5:30 PM
- District 76 At Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - Grand Rapids Covenant Christian v. Pewamo-Westphalia - 5:30 PM
- District 79 At Kalamazoo Christian - Kalamazoo Christian v. Galesburg-Augusta - 5:30 PM; Potterville Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic - 7 PM
- District 94 At Otisville LakeVille - Otisville LakeVille v. Burton Bendle 7 PM
- District 96 At Bad Axe - Cass City v. Harbor Beach - 7 PM
- District 103 At Pellston - Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian v. Beaver Island 5:30 PM; Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian v. Mackinaw City - 7 PM
- District 121 At Plymouth Christian - Adrian Lenawee Christian v. Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner - 5:30 PM; Ann Arbor Central Academy v. Plymouth Christian Academy - 7 PM
- District 124 At Southfield Christian - Livingston Christian v. Bloomfield Hills Roeper - 7 PM
The schedules for the District Semifinals and Finals will be released the day before those rounds. You can always reach a list of the upcoming tournament games by Clicking Here.
The Girls Basketball action is part of a week of more than 200 live events on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network. You can Click Here to look at the latest list of all upcoming varsity games.
Now in its 11th year, 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. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. 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.