Watch 20+ Spring Events on MHSAA TV
May 2, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
Streaming of spring sports hits a season high this week on MHSAA.tv, with more than 20 events scheduled to be produced by members of the School Broadcast Program.
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 delayed – 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 this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of live video streams being produced by SBP members (All times Eastern):
Tuesday, May 2
- JV Softball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Lacrosse – DeWitt at East Lansing, 6:30 p.m. (On Demand)
- Girls Soccer – Montrose at Corunna, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 3
- Girls Lacrosse – West Bloomfield at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 4
- Baseball – Posen at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Posen at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Painesdale-Jeffers at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- JV Baseball – Lincoln Alcona at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- Girls Soccer – Laingsburg at Montrose, 4:30 p.m.
- Softball – Posen at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- JV Baseball – Lincoln Alcona at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Baseball – Posen at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Softball – Painesdale-Jeffers at Calumet, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 5
- Baseball – Painesdale-Jeffers at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- Baseball – Painesdale-Jeffers at Calumet, 6 p.m.
Monday, May 8
- Baseball – Corunna at Montrose, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9
- Baseball - Wakefield-Marenisco at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Oxford at Lake Orion, 4:30 p.m.
- Baseball - Wakefield-Marenisco at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Girls Soccer – Grand Ledge at East Lansing, 7 p.m. (On Demand)
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. 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.
A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for the spring season 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 a baseball game between Millington at Montrose, a softball game pitting Troy Athens at Lake Orion and a boys lacrosse game featuring Holt at East Lansing.
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.)