Staff Writer
Some good did come out of the June 1st tornado that ravaged Springfield College and the surrounding neighborhoods. That good came in the final week of August, when ESPN Radio 1450 decided to team up with Springfield College and broadcast all four home football games.
The partnership was born after the tornado took out the Springfield College radio tower, meaning that there was no platform in which the school could broadcast football games over local radio. With the season fast approaching and no solution at the time, ESPN 1450 stepped in with a solution and on Aug. 31, the two sides reached an agreement to broadcast all four home games.
“It was great for us to get on board,” said ESPN 1450’s Program Director and Operations Manager Rob Anthony. “After the storm, there wasn’t really a great format available for broadcasting the games, and for us, it is great to be a part of Springfield College and what that tradition and pride means. I think for both sides it was a win-win situation.”
On Sept. 10, 2011, Springfield College football made its ESPN 1450 debut as the Pride defeated Frostburg State 48-24. The broadcast team was comprised of second-year professor Kyle Belanger doing the play-by-play and Communication/Sports Journalism (COSJ) senior Justin Felisko providing the color commentary. In addition to the two in the booth, fellow COSJ majors and seniors Kelly Foley and Ryan Matlack reported from the sideline.
“This is just a great opportunity for our students to work on commerical radio,” said Belanger. “Announcing these games will give our seniors a chance to experience real life situations.”
The group will remain together for the remaining three home games with the possibility of other COSJ seniors filling in as time goes on.
“This is just really good for us [ESPN 1450] to be involved,” said Anthony. “In the future, we hope to stay involved and eventually expand on this partnership.”
Sam Dostaler may be reached at sdostaler@springfieldcollege.edu