![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.)
![](/sites/default/files/imported/Photos/Daily/MHSAATVSig4.jpg)
Lacrosse Dominates MHSAA TV Schedule
April 23, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Here is the schedule for Spring sporting events to be streamed live on MHSAA.tv from April 23-May 7:
Tuesday - April 23
JV Softball – Niles at Stevensville Lakeshore – 3:55 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Canton at Novi - 5 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Canton at Novi - 6:30 PM
Wednesday - April 24
JV Girls Lacrosse - Northville at Novi - 5 PM
Freshman Boys Lacrosse - Plymouth at Brighton - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Lacrosse - Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Saline - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Lacrosse - Fenton at Saginaw Heritage - 6 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Northville at Novi - 6:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Plymouth at Brighton - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Temperance Bedford at Saline - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Fenton at Saginaw Heritage - 7:30 PM
Thursday - April 25
Girls Soccer - Clare at Ithaca - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Adrian Lenawee Christian at Manchester - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Midland at Grand Blanc - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Jackson at Saline - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Flint Powers Catholic at Saginaw Heritage - 6 PM
Girls Soccer - Jackson at Saline - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Midland at Grand Blanc - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Rochester Adams at Lake Orion - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Flint Powers Catholic at Saginaw Heritage - 7:30 PM
Friday - April 26
JV Girls Lacrosse - Lake Orion at Novi - 5 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Lake Orion at Novi - 6:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Madison Heights Bishop Foley at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 7 PM
Saturday - April 27
JV Boys Lacrosse - Rochester Hills Stoney Creek at Grand Blanc - 10AM
Boys Lacrosse - Rochester Hills Stoney Creek at Grand Blanc - 12PM
Monday - April 29
JV Girls Soccer - Macomb L'Anse Creuse North at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 4:30 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Howell at Novi - 5 PM
Girls Soccer - Saginaw Nouvel at Ithaca - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Ann Arbor Skyline at Saline - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Macomb L'Anse Creuse North at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 6 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Grand Blanc at Saginaw Heritage - 6 PM
Girls Soccer - Mason at Fowlerville - 6:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Howell at Novi - 6:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Saginaw Valley Lutheran at Freeland - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Ann Arbor Skyline at Saline - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Grand Blanc at Saginaw Heritage - 7:30 PM
Tuesday - April 30
Softball – St. Joseph at Stevensville Lakeshore – 3:55 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Temperance Bedford at Toledo Clay - 5 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Flint Powers Catholic at Grand Blanc - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Ann Arbor Pioneer at Saline - 5:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Northville at Brighton - 6 PM
Girls Soccer - Ann Arbor Pioneer at Saline - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Flint Powers Catholic at Grand Blanc - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Clarkston at Lake Orion - 7 PM
Wednesday - May 1
JV Girls Lacrosse - Brighton at Novi - 5 PM
Freshman Boys Lacrosse - Novi at Brighton - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Lacrosse - White Lake Lakeland - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Vicksburg at Plainwell - 6 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Brighton at Novi - 6:30 PM
Girls Lacrosse - White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Novi at Brighton - 7 PM
Thursday - May 2
Softball – Portage Central at Stevensville Lakeshore – 3:55 PM
Girls Soccer - Blissfield at Manchester - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Lapeer at Saginaw Heritage - 6 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Davison at Brighton - 6 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Detroit Cass Tech at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Lapeer at Saginaw Heritage - 7:30 PM
Friday - May 3
JV Girls Lacrosse - Grand Blanc at White Lake Lakeland - 5:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Hudsonville at Brighton - 6 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Ann Arbor Huron at Saline - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Grand Blanc at White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Monday - May 6
JV Girls Soccer - Sterling Heights Stevenson at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 4:30 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Northville at Novi - 5 PM
Girls Soccer - Grass Lake at Manchester - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Sterling Heights Stevenson at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 6 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Northville at Novi - 6:30 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Ann Arbor Huron at Saline - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Wixom St. Catherine at White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Tuesday - May 7
Softball - Oxford at Lake Orion - 4:30 PM
JV Girls Lacrosse - Midland at Grand Blanc - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - South Lyon East at White Lake Lakeland - 5:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Auburn Hills Avondale at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 7 PM
Girls Soccer - South Lyon East at White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Midland at Grand Blanc - 7 PM
In its 10th 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 events. The SBP also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 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 also are selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. 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.