Ford Field Trip Gives Students Taste of Football Finals Broadcasting

Highlights

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 SBP “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.)

Highlights

Selection Sunday Show Returns to FSD

October 22, 2019

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

The transition from high school football’s regular season to postseason play takes place at 7 p.m. this Sunday (Oct. 27) on FOX Sports Detroit-PLUS on the Selection Sunday Show with the announcing of qualifiers and pairings for the MHSAA Football Playoffs.

In addition to the statewide cable television broadcast, the Selection Sunday Show can be viewed on the internet through the FOXSportsDetroit.com Website and on handheld devices and television streaming devices like Roku through FOX Sports GO!

This year’s show will again originate from the FOX Sports Detroit studios in Southfield. Matt Shepard, Johnny Kane and Rob Rubick will handle the on-camera duties.

The following headline this week’s football action among games on Friday (Oct. 25) with live streaming video on MHSAA.tv being produced by members of the School Broadcast Program:

• A non-conference game between two 8-0 teams – Frankenmuth from the Tri-Valley Conference East and 2018 Division 7 champion New Lothrop from the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference.

• The Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference West crown will be decided when Portage Northern (7-1) hosts St. Joseph (6-2). Both teams are 4-0 in league play.

• And 5-3 teams which could clinch playoff spots during games being streamed this weekend are Cadillac, East Grand Rapids, Grand Blanc, Manchester and Warren De La Salle Collegiate.

Here’s the complete list of varsity-level events to be streamed live during the coming week:

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 its program.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.

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