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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 26 – MHSAA members participating in its School Broadcast Program have two opportunities to receive recognition for their efforts, and to learn more about the world sports broadcasting.

Last week, the formal Call For Entries took place for the MHSAA’s Second Annual SBP Excellence Awards.  This program, in partnership with Herff Jones, allows SBP schools to submit their work in five different cartegories – Single Camera and Multi Camera Production of athletic events, Best Use of PlayOn! Graphics/Softwear, Best Produced Commercials/Features, and Best Student Play-by-Play Announcing.  A Program of the Year Award will also be presented.

Entries will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Feb. 20, with winners to be announced in April.  Complete rules and entry information can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.

SBP participants also have the opportunity to attend the NFHS Network’s inaugural Broadcast Academy in Atlanta, Ga., July 17-19.  The Academy is designed for student broadcasters to hear from successful sports broadcasters from major networks, develop skills through hands-on broadcast training sessions and be recognized for their accomplishments during the first annual NFHS Network Broadcast Academy Awards Ceremony. Academy attendees will also attend an Atlanta Braves game and will be able to share best practices and experiences with other student broadcasters from other schools across the country.

The NFHS Network will also present awards to SBP schools from across the county in multiple categories, including Best Overall Program, Best Live Sports Broadcast, Best Student Broacaster and Best Teacher of the Year.  The application deadline for the awards program is February 15.  More information about both the Broadcast Academy and the NFHS Network Broadcast Academy awards can be found at:  http://broadcastacademy.nfhsnetwork.com

The MHSAA will also be providing SBP participants with two more “Field Trips” during the Girls and Boys Basketball Semifinals in March, where students will get a behind the scenes look at broadcast operations at those events, be able to create their own content at the games, and visit with broadcast professionals about careers in sports broadcasting.  The field trips are run in cooperation with the Student Broadcast Foundation and Herff Jones.  More information will be available soon on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.

This week’s live SBP-produced events on MHSAA.tv will again feature a hockey showdown, as the top-ranked teams in Division 1 and Division 3 respectively – Detroit Catholic Central and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood – face off Friday (Jan. 30) at 7:15 p.m.  A great non-conference boys basketball matchup in the week ahead will have Stevensville Lakeshore, the top team in the Big 16-West, at Dowagaic next Tuesday (Feb. 3), the second place squad in the Wolverine Conference-West.

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.

Here’s the schedule of School Broadcast Program members planning to cover varsity competition this week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv  (As of Jan. 26).  The following events will have live streaming video unless otherwise indicated:

Tuesday, January 27
Boys Basketball – Baraga at Calumet, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Sparta at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – AuGres-Sims at Hillman, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Corunna at Montrose, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Oscoda at Pinconning, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 28
Wrestling – Triangular with Belding & Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.

Thursday, January 29
Boys Swimming – DeWitt at Haslett, 6 p.m.

Friday, January 30
Boys Basketball – Saginaw Arthur Hill at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Johannesburg-Lewiston at Mancelona, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Coloma at Dowagiac, 7 p.m.
Ice Hockey – Detroit Catholic Central at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, 7:15 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Standish-Sterling at Pinconning, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, February 2
Girls Basketball – Hancock at Calumet, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, February 3
Boys Basketball – Elk Rapids at Mancelona, 6:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Saginaw Heritage at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Okemos at Haslett, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Lake Fenton at Montrose, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Stevensville Lakeshore at Dowagiac, 7:15 p.m.

Live stats of select basketball games are also available on MHSAA.tv.  Check out the MHSAA.tv website on game night to see which schools are streaming live stats, or stop by to view stats following games on an On Demand basis.  A Day Pass to view live stats is $1.95.

All sporting events – live or delayed - are available on MHSAA.tv on a subscription basis for their first 72 hours online.   A portion of each subscription is returned to school originating the broadcast.  Video subscriptions run $9.95 for a Day Pass, and $14.95 for a Month Pass.  Some schools are also offering Annual Passes at a discounted rate.  All sporting events become available for free On Demand viewing three days after they have been posted. 

To view all of the recent School Broadcast Program productions, go to MHSAA.tv, click On Demand on the nav bar of the left side of the page, and on the Filters tab at the top of next page, click on All States and then select Michigan. 

Also available on MHSAA.tv this week is an SBP highlights package from the past week.  This week’s highlights include a 2-2 ice hockey tie between Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood and Detroit U-D Jesuit; plus Goodrich scoring a 55-43 victory in girls basketball at Haslett in a clash of two top 10 teams in Class B.

Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.

In its tenth season is the radio commentary MHSAA Perspective – presented by the Amber Alert Foundation, which airs on over 80 radio stations and audio outlets across the state, generally during the local broadcasts of high school games.  The program runs for 30 weeks through the end of the winter sports season.  MHSAA Perspective can also be accessed from the home page of the MHSAA Website. 

This week's Perspective: Fees Bench Players   (Left click to listen, right click to save) In this week's edition of Perspective, John Johnson talks about the findings of a national study recently released by the University of Michigan, which indicate that participation fees for high school sports are keeping kids on the sidelines.   

Visit the MHSAA Perspective page of the MHSAA Website for a complete list of affiliates and air times.

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