![Montrose SBP](/sites/default/files/2021-12/211207_fieldtrip_2H.jpg)
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.)
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FOX Sports Detroit Replays Hoops Finals
July 7, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
The championship games of the 2019 MHSAA Boys & Girls Basketball Tournaments, presented by Sparrow Health System, will reair this week on FOX Sports Detroit.
Here’s the complete schedule, with links to video of the archived games on MHSAA.tv:
Girls Finals – Monday (July 8)
- Div. 4 – Adrian Lenawee Christian 48, St. Ignace 46 - 6 p.m.
- Div. 1 – Saginaw Heritage 55, Southfield A&T 40 - 8 p.m.
- Div. 3 – Pewamo-Westphalia 40, Flint Hamady 33 - 10 p.m.
- Div. 2 – Detroit Edison 77, Freeland 58 - Midnight
Boys Finals – Tuesday (July 9)
- Div. 4 – Southfield Christian 63, Frankfort 39 - 6 p.m.
- Div. 1 – Ypsilanti Lincoln 64, Detroit U-D Jesuit 62 - 8 p.m.
- Div. 3 – Pewamo-Westphalia 53, Iron Mountain 52 - 10 p.m.
- Div. 2 – Hudsonville Unity Christian 58, River Rouge 55 - Midnight
Some portions of the games may be edited out due to time constraints. Instant Downloads of these games can be ordered from the MHSAA.tv website – click on the blue Digital Copy button below the video player of that game.