![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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Girls Quarterfinals to Stream Live
March 19, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
All 16 games of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Quarterfinals on Tuesday (March 19) will have live streaming video on MHSAA.tv.
Most of the games will be streamed by schools participating in the School Broadcast Program and will consist of single-camera coverage with natural sound and a scorebug graphic.
Here’s the complete schedule. All games start at 7 p.m. (EDT) unless otherwise indicated:
Division 1
Saginaw Heritage v. Hartland at Grand Blanc
Wayne Memorial v. Temperance Bedford at West Bloomfield – 5 PM
Southfield A&T v. St. Clair Shores Lakeview at West Bloomfield
Muskegon v. DeWitt at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Division 2
Cadillac v. Freeland at Mt. Pleasant – 6 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian v. Hamilton at Holland (Hope College)
Haslett v. Chelsea at Fowlerville
Detroit Edison v. Goodrich at Port Huron (St. Clair County Community College)
Division 3
Ishpeming Westwood v. Lake City at Gaylord
Royal Oak Shrine v. Flint Hamady at Lapeer – 6 PM
Adrian Madison v. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep at Tecumseh
Pewamo-Westphalia v. Niles Brandywine at Middleville-Thornapple Kellogg
Division 4
Baraga v. St. Ignace at Escanaba
Clarkston Everest Collegiate v. Kingston at Burton Bendle – 6 PM
Gaylord St. Mary v. Fowler at Clare
Fruitport Calvary Christian v. Adrian Lenawee Christian at Richland Gull Lake
The continued basketball coverage is part of six straight weekends of live MHSAA Championship coverage on MHSAA.tv, and online viewers can catch every weekend of action for one low cost of $9.95. A subscription purchased this week will be good for coverage of the Girls Basketball Semifinals on Thursday and Friday (March 21-22).
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.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.