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 Wraps with Big Fall Finish
November 20, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
High school sports fans can enjoy a huge weekend of live streaming audio and video of championship action this weekend on the MHSAA.tv, FoxSportsDetroit.com and MHSAANetwork.com websites and FOX Sports GO! app.
The weekend centers on MHSAA.tv wrapping up its Fall coverage with live video streaming of all Semifinals and Finals in Girls Volleyball, the Final round of Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving and 13 Semifinal games from the MHSAA Football Playoffs. All events will be shown live on a subscription basis.
The 8-Player Football Finals will be played Saturday (Nov. 17) between Suttons Bay and Colon at 11 a.m. in Division 1 and Pickford and Portland St. Patrick at 2 p.m. in Division 2, both at Marquette’s Superior Dome and streamed live on the Prep Zone on the FoxSportsDetroit.com website and FOX Sports GO! The games also will be shown on FOX Sports Detroit on Tuesday (Nov. 26), with Division 1 at 8 p.m., followed by Division 2 at 11 p.m. This also is the last week of the Prep Zone on FoxSportsDetroit.com, with three 11-Player Football Semifinal games being streamed live.
The MHSAANetwork.com website will carry live audio of all Volleyball Semifinal and Final matches Thursday through Saturday (Nov. 21-23), as well as the 8-Player Football Finals.
Here is this week's video streaming schedule (all events live online):
Thursday - Girls Volleyball Semifinals - MHSAA.tv & MHSAANetwork.com
- Mendon v. Southfield Christian, Division 4 – Noon
- Rudyard v. Leland, Division 4 – 2 p.m.
- Lake Orion v. Lowell, Division 1 – 4:30 p.m.
- Ann Arbor Skyline v. Farmington Hills Mercy, Division 1 – 6:30 p.m.
Friday - Girls Volleyball Semifinals - MHSAA.tv & MHSAANetwork.com
- Saginaw Valley Lutheran v. Schoolcraft, Division 3 – Noon
- Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central v. Beaverton, Division 3 – 2 p.m.
- Pontiac Notre Dame Prep v. Lake Odessa Lakewood, Division 2 – 4:30 p.m.
- Kingsley v. Grand Rapids Christian, Division 2 – 6:30 p.m.
Friday - 11-Player Football Semifinals – MHSAA.tv – 7 p.m.
- Iron Mountain v. Pewamo-Westphalia, Division 7
Saturday - 8-Player Football Finals – FOXSportsDetroit.com , FOX Sports GO! & MHSAANetwork.com
- Suttons Bay v. Colon, Division 1, 11 a.m.
- Pickford v. Portland St. Patrick, Division 2, 2 p.m. (approx.)
Delayed cable broadcast on FOX Sports Detroit, Tuesday, Division 1 - 8 p.m.; Division 2 – 11 p.m. Archived at MHSAA.tv.
Saturday - Girls Volleyball Finals - MHSAA.tv & MHSAANetwork.com
- Class D Final, 10 a.m.
- Class C Final, Noon
- Class A Final, 2 p.m.
- Class B Final, 4 p.m.
Saturday - L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving Finals - MHSAA.tv
- Division 1 – Holland Aquatics Center - Noon
- Division 2 – Oakland University – 5 p.m.
- Division 3 – Oakland University – 10 a.m.
Saturday - 11-Player Football Semifinals – Prep Zone on FoxSportsDetroit.com – 1 p.m.
- Brighton v. Belleville, Division 1
- Muskegon Mona Shores v. Walled Lake Western, Division 2
- Muskegon v. DeWitt, Division 3
Saturday - 11-Player Football Semifinals on MHSAA.tv - All games 1 p.m. unless noted
- Davison v. Sterling Heights Stevenson, Division 1
- Detroit King v. Birmingham Seaholm, Division 2 – 3 p.m.
- Chelsea v. River Rouge, Division 3
- Grand Rapids Catholic Central v. Hudsonville Unity Christian, Division 4
- Flint Powers Catholic v. Detroit Country Day, Division 4
- Kingsley v. Lansing Catholic, Division 5
- Almont v. Detroit Denby, Division 5
- Maple City Glen Lake v. Montague, Division 6
- Onsted v. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, Division 6
- Jackson Lumen Christi v. Cass City, Division 7 – 11 a.m.
- Beal City v. Ubly, Division 8
- Fowler v. Reading, Division 8
A subscription to MHSAA.tv is $10.99 and allows 30 days of viewing live content on the NFHS Network.