Who covers marshall sports: long-awaited answers

      Who covers Marshall sports: long-awaited answers

    Editors notes: This news package identifies the work of many figures covering the Marshall Thundering Herd from television, radio, print, and student media. The content is brought to you by students in JMC 303, a Sports Journalism class in Marshall's School of Journalism and Mass Communications. The students are Nate Courtney, Sean Kelly, Ethan Peltier, Ben Anderson.  

How WMUL-FM covers Marshall sports

by Nate Courtney

    For over 35 years, WMUL-FM, Marshall University’s award-winning student-run college radio station, has provided sports coverage of the various sports programs on campus

Dr. Charles G. Bailey, Faculty Manager/WMUL-FM

Credit: by Dr. Charles G. Bailey

    Heading WMUL-FM is Dr. Charles G. Bailey, who has served as the faculty manager since 1985. Bailey is a Man, West Virginia, native and graduated from Marshall in the early 1970s. Bailey has mentored thousands of students. Over the years, notable WMUL alumni: Keith Morehouse, news anchor at WSAZ; Jason Toy, radio broadcaster for Motor Racing Network who covers NASCAR; and Chad Pennington, a former Marshall, and NFL quarterback have worked under Bailey. 

WMUL and its student workers have won close to 3,000 awards ranging from first place to honorable mention. These awards are won in a range of contests, with some being local, smaller contests, to nationally known big-time contests. 

The sports staff at the radio station has achieved most of the success, having won awards such as Best Sports Operation in the Virginia’s, best Play-by-play Programming/program, among others. The most notable award of the sports staff is the Jim Nantz Award for the most outstanding student sportscaster each year. Adam Cavalier, a student who served as both sports director and station manager at WMUL, won the inaugural award in 2009.

    Along with managing the radio station, Bailey has also taught numerous classes and is the head of the sports journalism prgram at Marshall. “I’m in charge of the sports journalism program,” Bailey said. “I explain how to do things, I show people how to do it. I then arrange press passes, working with the SIDs to make certain my class can get in, and then on football Saturdays, I go up in the box with you all and show you how you accurately keep stats.”

    Bailey teaches classes in Audio Production, Intro to Sports Journalism, and Sportscasting, among others.

    While Bailey is the station's lead man, he cannot physically plan and coordinate everything by himself, so he has a board of directors who lead the station and are Bailey’s main sources with anything regarding the station. When covering sports, Bailey has two top people who he needs information from, those being Sean Kelly, the sports director, and Emma Johnson, the news director. 

Both directors are in their first semester serving in their respective positions and have learned a lot having to be the main or woman that a large portion of the station’s staff relies on for opportunities, along with scheduling events and programs. Both are seniors, having spent multiple semesters and years at the station, building up their resumes so they have the confidence and experience to be trusted to maintain control in such a big role.

Sean Kelly, Sports Director/Founder of Rounding Third with Sean Kelly 

Credit: by Sean Kelly

    Kelly is a 21-year-old senior from State College, Pennsylvania, studying sports journalism, and is serving as the sports director at WMUL-FM. Kelly has worked diligently for the sports staff ever since he first came to Marshall in 2021. Kelly's job has required a lot more than simply to manage the sports staff. “I get the press passes from the SIDs at the beginning of the seasons for basketball, football, and soccer," Kelly said. "I schedule the games that we call each week at the [sports] meeting every Monday."

    A typical Monday for Kelly begins at 1 p.m., when he arrives at the station for his office hours and to do any work that needs to be done, like schoolwork or duties of his as sports director. Once 6 p.m. hits, he leads the sports meeting where he has to figure out who is available to work in each specific area of the sports operation at the station, whether that be write-ups, or having to put someone on the air to call a game.

    Kelly’s favorite memory of working for WMUL was when he traveled to James Madison University in 2022 to serve as the spotter for the football game between Marshall and JMU. Another key memory Kelly was when he and Ben Cower was calling the Marshall Women’s Basketball game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Feb. 2, 2023, when the fire alarm blared in the production booth back at the radio station, and the pair improvised for the majority of the game as the alarm went off for over an hour.

Emma Johnson, News Director

Credit: by Emma Johnson

    Johnson is a 21-year-old senior student from Logan, West Virginia, studying Multimedia Journalism, and is the news director. Johnson has been working for the station since 2021. She also played a key role in covering sports, as sports take up a good portion of News Center 88 coverage every day with the five minute FM 88 Sports Report. “With my position, my main goal is to make sure that news has a sports segment to highlight Marshall sports, professional sports, and all of that,” Johnson said. “My job comes in to make sure that the sports report is five minutes, and that Marshall athletics is the focus of the sports report because sometimes we tend to veer off and cover what is big in say NFL news, or NBA or MLB." 

    Johnson has to start her week by scheduling who is going to be on the news for the week but said that most of her day is spent reaching out to people to see if they are available or not. She also must make certain that her program, NewsCenter 88 goes on the air every day at 5 p.m. and verify that she has everyone she needs to make each broadcast successful. 

Nate Courtney, Founder of Nates Sports Nook Blog

How the students of JMC 303 report Marshall Sports

by Sean Kelly

    Fans of the Thundering Herd have access to numerous blogs that cover the team, but have they ever wanted to know more about the people behind the blogs? These are their stories.

    For many sports journalism majors at Marshall University, covering Marshall athletics is one step in fulfilling a childhood dream. Such is the case for Ben Anderson, junior at Marshall University and creator of the blog “First and Ben,” who has dreamed of covering Marshall sports since he first heard the voice of Thundering Herd commentator Steve Cotton.

Ben Anderson/First and Ben

Credit: by Ben Anderson

    “Just being a die-hard Marshall fan growing up, whenever we’re traveling, (we were) always listening to Steve Cotton,” Anderson said. “I always thought, and I still think, that he has the coolest job in the world being the voice of Marshall athletics. Then I realized when it was time to go to college that I could do that and go to Marshall, but Steve was the reason I wanted to get into this.”

    

    As the sole writer and creator of “First and Ben,” Anderson covers Marshall football. The reasoning behind his football focus goes deeper than his childhood aspirations.

    

    “I’ve always wanted to cover football and I’ve always been a die-hard Marshall fan,” Anderson said. “I would say (I cover football) for the love of the game, wanting to get more involved with reporting a higher up sport, and also working alongside Grant Traylor because I realized that’s the one SID (Sports Information director) I haven’t really worked with.”

Nate Courtney/Nate's Sports 

Credit: Nate Courtney/Nate’s Sports Nook

    Nate Courtney, junior at Marshall University and founder of the blog “Nate’s Sports Nook,” covers Marshall men’s soccer. For him, the success of Marshall men’s soccer and his experience as a player both play a part in his focus.

     

    “I decided to choose men’s soccer, for one because it is the best team Marshall has,” Courtney said. “I played soccer in middle school, so I have somewhat of a background in soccer. I guess just the national recognition it gets within other soccer programs was really cool, and I wanted to highlight that.”

    Courtney covers both home and road matches as the sole writer of “Nate’s Sports Nook,” but the toughest part of creating weekly content comes when the team is away from home.

    “The most difficult part is, honestly, if the team has a lull in action or is on the road,” Courtney said. “It’s a lot more difficult to be able to get quotes, especially if they are on the road for multiple games. Just getting quotes and trying not to say the same things is the most difficult part.”

    

    The Fairfax, Virginia native also gave some insight on his writing process for the weekly writeups.

    

    “When it comes to writing a blog, I’ll typically look at StatBroadcast and use my observations on there to help compliment my blog. I’ll usually do that the morning of my deadline just because I want to have the most up-to-date information,” Courtney said.

    

    The work that goes into Anderson’s writing starts with a quote from Marshall head football coach Charles Huff and builds from there.

    

    “Usually, the biggest thing is just recapping the games, but you take whatever quotes he says in the postgame, but make one the basis of your story,” Anderson said. “Usually, I do mine before I go to bed the night before, then I go to HerdZone and use the Herald-Dispatch for any stats in that game that I missed out on and want to add to my story.”

Ethan Peltier/Kickin' It with The Herd

Credit: Ethan Peltier/Kickin’ It with The Herd

    

    Though senior Ethan Peltier is a recent transplant to Huntington, via Boulder, Colorado, the “Kickin’ It with the Herd” creator got his start in journalism with Marshall’s student radio station, WMUL-FM. As he experienced at WMUL-FM, sometimes the memories that come from covering the Herd come from beyond the blogs.

    

    “Favorite Marshall athletics memory off the top of my head is going to be when I first was on air to call a game which was with Jonathan Edwards,” Peltier said. “It was just really cool to get that experience, obviously as a sports journalism major that’s something that I wanted to do for a long time.”

    

    Though Peltier’s first time on-air was one he longed for, that didn’t stop nerves from creeping in at the start of his debut covering Marshall baseball.

     

    “I will admit, I was very nervous, probably not as prepared as I thought I was, but just getting through the first couple of innings and getting those nerves out of the way was a really cool experience,” Peltier said. “The fact I got to do it with someone who is so important to me, and someone that has helped me through this process at my first year at Marshall was a great moment.”

    

    Anderson’s favorite memory did not happen while covering a game, but rather when he was attending as a fan during Marshall football’s victory over Notre Dame in 2022.

    

    “I looked up and I saw (Steven) Gilmore with the pick six, and I don’t think I’ve ever cried so many tears of joy in my life,” Anderson said. “I remember I had no voice afterwards, that place erupted, after Marshall won we just went ballistic, it was amazing that I got to see Marshall beat Notre Dame in person.”

    

    Sean Kelly covers Marshall softball and is the founder of the blog Rounding Third with Sean Kelly.

How the Parthenon covers Marshall Sports

by Ethan Peltier

    

    For over a century, The Parthenon has been a staple of news coverage for Marshall University students, faculty members as well as residents of Huntington and Charleston. 

    Since its inception in 1898, the student-run organization has provided coverage on both community and campus events, academics and university athletics. 

    Like many other papers, The Parthenon started as a print-only publication. Today, the paper can be easily accessed online.

Sandy York – Parthenon Senior Adviser  

Courtesy: Sandy York 

    According to Sandy York, The Parthenon’s faculty adviser, the organization provides daily coverage on its website. In addition to its online presence, The Parthenon publishes a weekly print edition. 

  

    York’s role is to aid the student reporters. She provides expertise and guidance to those learning how to write professionally. Under York’s guidance, the student editors are “in charge” of the content, layout and design for each edition. 

    “I am just here to help,” York said regarding her student editors. “I tell them all the time, I’m here for you.”

    While the paper does cover a wide range of topics, sports have always been a key part of The Parthenon’s reporting. The sports section covers Marshall athletics as well as local high school sporting events. 

    “Mostly, we cover Marshall,” York said. “Occasionally, we have covered some high school [sporting events].”

Joseph Dicristofaro – Parthenon Sports Editor 

Courtesy: Joseph Dicristofaro 

    The sports editor for the Parthenon is Joesph Dicristofaro. Dicristofaro is a senior broadcast journalism major and has been the sports editor for The Parthenon for over a year. 

    Given that there are only a handful of student reporters, Dicristofaro said that his team often must pick which sporting events to cover each week.

    “It’s hard to cover everything at once,” Dicristofaro said. “We have to figure out what’s most important [to cover].”

    From there, students get the opportunity to cover games. Aside from being able to attend such sporting events, students get the chance to live-tweet, take notes and conduct post-game interviews with coaches and players. This provides them with invaluable hands-on experience.

    It’s an experience that mirrors the professional world of sports reporting, giving students the chance to develop critical skills like quick decision-making, multitasking and producing high-quality content with tight deadlines. 

    As Marshall University’s athletic programs continue to strive for excellence, The Parthenon is set to remain an essential part of sports coverage. With a strong digital presence and a committed team of student reporters, the newspaper continues its tradition of telling the stories behind the games, ensuring that the legacy of Marshall sports lives on both in print and online. 

    

    Ethan Peltier is the founder of the blog Kickin' It with The Herd

How local radio and newspaper reporters cover Marshall sports

by Ben Anderson

    Luke Creasy has a journey worth noting, and it involves the work of another Marshall alumnus who has distinguished himself in this pursuit.

Luke Creasy

Courtesy: Luke Creasy

    Creasy, a Herald-Dispatch beat reporter who covers Marshall athletics, began his career as an intern for Paul Swann at Kindred Communications. Years later, he remains grateful for the skills he learned at Swann’s side.

    “A lot of what I did for Paul was trying to book guests and sometimes cold calling people to try and get them on the show,” Creasy said during an interview with First and Ben. “People that you don't know. The ability to just strike up a conversation with somebody, don't be afraid to ask the question.” 

    Swann, the host of the radio show “The Drive,” on WRVC said that Creasy had the special spark that has led to Creasy’s success.

Paul Swann

Courtesy Paul Swann

    “Luke was dedicated, always eager to learn, and had a real passion for journalism. It’s no surprise he’s gone on to do great things in the industry.” Swann said during an interview with First and Ben. 

    

    Swann and Creasy’s jobs are different in the media - one works in print journalism, the other is radio. 

    “I use radio to connect directly with Marshall fans, giving them live coverage, analysis, and insights on the latest games and sports news,” Swann said.  “It’s an authentic medium that allows for real-time reactions in-depth discussions and fan engagement, especially through The Drive and game-day broadcasts.” 

    Creasy said, “I've got, X as well everything that I cover for Marshall in one form or another will be turned into a story, either on our website or in print.” Creasy said. “A lot more of my game coverage is not hitting print and it goes online instead and then I can work on a on a follow-up story from that game just to account for it and print later.”

    Swann and Creasy both got their start in the sports industry through local radio.

    Swann said “I spent almost 19 years at what was then Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia. I was let go as part of a force reduction. After my non-compete was up, Woody Woodrum approached me on behalf of Mike Kirtner. We met, and it’s been a great relationship ever since.” 

    Creasy said “My first introduction to it was with WMUL, it is my sophomore year at Marshall and got into the got onto the sports staff and started helping out with that and doing packages and the first thing I ever did on site was stat a volleyball game, which was fun.” 

“I’ve always loved sports and always I thought it would be cool to cover my hometown team. WMUL gave me an opportunity to do that.” 

    Swann said that the difference in hosting a radio show is the more personal connection with the audience.

    “Radio is unique because it’s more personal and immediate. On a talk show, I can interact with listeners, give real-time updates, and dive deeper into the stories that matter most to fans,” Swann said. It’s a different level of connection compared to written reports or social media, and that’s what makes it special and authentic.” 

    Creasy said that the difference in print writing is the lack of restrictions.

    “I think a lot of it involves my ability to not necessarily be confined to a strict time limit or portion of a broadcast. You know if I'm reporting on TV and you know, I may have 30 seconds to describe what happened in this game, I don't have that strict limitation in print,” Creasy said. I can expand on ideas I can really dig deeper into some stuff and you know long-form features are always fun when you get outside of the actual game coverage.” 

    Swann and Creasy are just two of the many organizations that cover the Thundering Herd, which includes Kindred Communications, Herald-Dispatch, WSAZ, and WOWK, and will continue to provide fans with unique content for years to come. 

 

Ben Anderson is the founder of the blog First and Ben.