Jets Go for Record Live On MHSAA TV
January 25, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
History could be made Friday night when Powers North Central attempts to break the MHSAA boys basketball record for consecutive victories when the Jets host Bark River-Harris in a battle of unbeatens in the Skyline Central Conference at 6:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time), a game which will be shown live on the MHSAA.tv website.
On Tuesday (Jan. 24), North Central ran its season record to 10-0 (3-0 conference) with a 76-24 win over Rock Mid-Peninsula to extend its winning streak over three seasons to 65 games, tying Chassell, which set the mark nearly 60 years ago in winning three consecutive MHSAA Class D titles in 1956-57-58.
Bark-River Harris is 2-0 in the Skyline this season and coming off a 71-47 loss in a nonleague game to Escanaba on Monday (Jan. 23) which gave the Broncos an 8-2 overall record.
The School Broadcast Program from Marquette High School will produce Friday’s game. The halftime show will be a feature on those Chassell teams which set the record, produced in 1998 by FOX Sports Detroit.
The Chassell video is available for viewing on the MHSAA.tv website (Click Here to watch) and on the MHSAA Channel on YouTube (Click Here to watch). You can also read more about Chassell on the Historical Articles and the Second Half pages of the MHSAA Website.
In its eighth 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.
The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
Here’s the schedule of events School Broadcast Program members plan to stream over the next week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv.
Wednesday, Jan. 25
- Wrestling – Quad at Comstock Park, 5 p.m.
- Wrestling – Quad at Otisville Lakeville, 5:45 p.m.
- Girls Competitive Cheer – OK Meet at Cedar Springs, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Sault Ste. Marie at Alpena, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Detroit Catholic Central at Trenton, 7:10 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Grosse Pointe North, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 26
- JV Girls Basketball – Allendale at Comstock Park, 5:30 p.m.
- JV Girls Basketball – New Lothrop at Montrose, 5:30 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Kingsford at Calumet, 7 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – New Lothrop at Montrose, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Farmington at Lake Orion, 7:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 27
- Boys Basketball – Grand Rapids Northview at Cedar Springs, 5:30 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Allendale at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – Atlanta at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Zeeland West at Hamilton, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Traverse City Central at Alpena, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Grand Rapids Northview at Cedar Springs, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Atlanta at Rogers City, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Detroit Catholic Central, 7:10 p.m. (DCC feed)
- Boys Basketball – Bark River-Harris at Powers North Central, 7:30 p.m. (6:30 Central)
- Girls Basketball – Allendale at Comstock Park, 7:30 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Detroit Catholic Central, 7:30 p.m. (BHCK feed)
Saturday, Jan. 28
- Ice Hockey – Detroit Catholic Central at Brighton, 4:40 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 30
- JV Girls Basketball – Au Gres-Sims at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Oxford at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Au Gres-Sims at Rogers City, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Hancock at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
- JV Girls Basketball – North Branch at Otisville Lakeville, 5:25 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – North Branch at Otisville Lakeville, 6:45 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Hopkins at Plainwell, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Birmingham Seaholm at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Hudsonville Unity Christian at Cedar Springs, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Negaunee at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.
The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. 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. Some schools also will be selling 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.
Fans also can access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.
A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for another year with highlights of selected games last week produced by members of the Association’s School Broadcast Program.
This week’s highlights package consists of clips of Saginaw Heritage at Midland Dow girls basketball, Norway at Negaunee boys basketball and also Saginaw Valley Lutheran at Otisville Lakeville boys basketball from last week.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.
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.)