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.)
100 Stations Carry MHSAA's 'This Week'
September 17, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
More than 100 over-the-air radio stations and internet audio website are carrying the MHSAA Network’s flagship program, This Week In High School Sports, as part of their weekly high school sports programming for the third straight year.
The five-minute program, powered by Michigan Student Aid, is in its fifth year. It leads off each week with feature stories from around the state from the MHSAA’s Second Half, or from network affiliated stories and interviews. This Week Game Balls are then presented for team or individual achievements in the past week. Be The Referee, a 60-second look at the fine art of officiating, comes in the middle of the show, and is followed by a closing MHSAA Perspective.
This week’s show will feature the inspirational story of Larry Prout Jr. at Pinckney High School, present game balls in 8-player football to Powers North Central and in boys soccer to Gaylord; address a swimming rules change during Be The Referee and conclude with an MHSAA Perspective on how most decisions in high school sports take place at the local level.
Here is a list of radio stations and web audio outlets carrying This Week In High School Sports:
Alma - WQBX-FM (104.9) - Halftime of game broadcasts, Between 1-2 p.m. Saturdays if no game that week
Alma – WFYC-AM (1280) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Between 1-2 p.m. Saturdays if no game that week
Alpena – WHSB-FM (107.7) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Alpena - WKJZ-FM (94.9) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Alpena - WZTK-FM (105.7) - Football Fridays, 6:30 p.m.; Halftime of basketball game broadcasts
Ashley - WJSZ-FM (92.5) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Battle Creek – WBCK-FM (95.3) – Following game broadcasts
Beaverton – WMRX-FM (97.7) - Halftime of game broadcasts; Sundays, 8 a.m.
Bridgman – WYTZ-FM (97.5) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Cadillac - WKAD-FM (93.7) – Immediately following Friday game broadcasts
Canton - WSDP-FM (88.1) - Halftime of football game broadcasts
Caro – WIDL-FM (92.1) – Prior to pregame show
Cheboygan - WCBY-FM (100.7) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Clawson – Detroit Sports & Entertainment – Halftime of game broadcasts
Coldwater - WTVB-AM (1590) - Halftime of Friday game broadcasts
Coldwater - WTVB-FM (95.5) – Halftime of Friday game broadcasts
Deckerville - ThumbTailgater.com - Halftime of game broadcasts
Detroit - WDTK-FM (101.5) - Pregame of game broadcasts
Detroit - WDTK-AM (1400) - Pregame of game broadcasts
East Lansing - WVFN-AM (730) – Fridays at 6 p.m. during football season
Escanaba - WCHT (600) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Escanaba – WUPF-FM (107.3) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Escanaba - WDBC (680) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Escanaba – WYKX-FM (104.7) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Ferrysburg - WMPA-FM (93.1) - Fridays at 6:35 p.m. during pregame broadcast
Frankenmuth - Frankenmuth Sports Network – Pregame and halftime of game broadcasts
Frankfort – WBNZ-FM (92.3) – Pregame of game broadcasts
Grand Haven - WAWL-FM (103.5) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Grand Haven - WGHN-AM (1370) – Fridays at 6:35 p.m. during pregame broadcast
Grand Haven – WGHN-FM (92.1) – Fridays at 6:35 p.m. during pregame broadcast
Grand Haven – WGHN-FM (94.9) – Fridays at 6:35 p.m. during pregame broadcast
Grand Haven – MichiganGameNight.com – Halftime of game broadcasts
Grand Rapids - WMAX-FM (96.1) – Following post-game scoreboard show
Grand Rapids – MichiganSportsRadio.com – Pregame or halftime of game broadcasts
Grayling – WGRY-FM (101.1) - Pregame of game broadcasts
Grayling - WQON-FM (100.3) - Pregame of game broadcasts
Greenville – WGLM-FM (106.3) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Hancock – WMPL-AM (920) – Pregame of game broadcasts
Hancock – WMPL-FM (107.3) – Pregame of game broadcasts
Hancock – WKMJ-FM (93.5) – Pregame of game broadcasts
Holland - WHTC-AM (1450) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Holland - WHTC-FM (99.7) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Howell – LivingstonPost.com – Halftime of game broadcasts
Houghton - WHKB-FM (102.3) - Postgame of game broadcasts
Houghton Lake – WTWS-FM (92.1) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Iron Mountain – WZNL-FM (94.3) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Ironwood – WJMS-AM (590) – Pregame of game broadcasts
Jackson – WKHM-AM (970) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Jackson – WKHM-FM (101.5) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Jackson - WKHM-FM (105.3) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Kalamazoo – WQLR (1600) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Kalamazoo – WKZO-AM (590) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Lansing – LansingHerald.com – Halftime of game broadcasts
Lowell – WRWW-FM (92.3) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Ludington – WKLA-AM (1450) – TBA
Ludington – WKLA-FM (92.7) - TBA
Ludington – WKLA-FM (96.3) – TBA
Ludington - WLDN-FM (97.7) – TBA
Ludington - WLDN-FM (98.7) – TBA
Manistique - WTIQ-AM (1490) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Marquette – WRUP-FM (98.3) – Postgame of game broadcasts
Marquette - WKQS-FM (101.9) – Postgame of game broadcasts
Marquette - WFXD-FM (103.3) – Postgame of game broadcasts.
Marquette – WFXD-HD2 (105.1 – 99.9) - Postgame of game broadcasts
Marquette – WUPZ-FM (94.9) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Marquette - WZAM-AM (970) - Tuesdays between 4-5 p.m.
Marquette - WZAM-FM (93.3) - Tuesdays between 4-5 p.m.
Midland – WMPX-AM (1490) – Halftime of game broadcasts; Sundays, 8 a.m.
Midland – WMPX-FM (107.7) - Halftime of game broadcasts; Sundays, 8 a.m.
Monroe - MonroeCountyRadio.com - Halftime of game broadcasts
Mt. Pleasant – WCZY-FM (104.3) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Mt. Pleasant - WMMI-FM (92.3) - Halftime of game broadcasts
Muskegon - WLCS-FM (98.3) - Pregame of game broadcasts
Muskegon – WVIB-FM (100.1) - Pregame of game broadcasts
Muskegon – WMUS-FM (107.9) – Following post-game scoreboard show
Newberry – WNBY-AM (1450) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Newberry – WNBY-FM (93.9) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Niles – RCSportscasting.com – Halftime of game broadcasts
Novi – WOVI-FM (89.5) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Ontonagon – WUPY-FM (101.1) – Pregame of game broadcasts
Oscoda – WWTH-FM (100.7) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Petoskey - WMBN-AM (1340) – Immediately following Friday game broadcasts
Petoskey – WMBN-FM (104.7) – Immediately following Friday game broadcasts
Rogers City – WHAK-FM (99.9) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Saugatuck - WVYN-FM (92.7) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Sault Ste. Marie - WSOO-AM (1230) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Sault Ste. Marie – WUPN-FM (95.1) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Monday at 8:50 a.m.
Scottville – WKZC-FM (94.9) – TBA
South Haven – WCSY-FM (103.7) – Halftime of game broadcasts
St. Ignace/Cheboygan – WWMK-FM (106.3) – Halftime of Friday game broadcasts
St. Joseph – WSJM-AM (1400) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Daily at 1:40 p.m.
St. Joseph – WSJM-FM (106.1) – Halftime of game broadcasts, Daily at 1:40 p.m.
St. Joseph – WSJM-FM (94.9) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Sturgis – WBET-AM (1230) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Sturgis – WBET-FM (99.3) – Halftime of game broadcasts
Sturgis – JoeInsider.com – Halftime of game broadcasts
Tawas City - WKJC-FM (104.7)