By Audrey Helms | BG Falcon Media Intern
The Falcon Media Sports Network continues to grow at high speed, from an increase in the number of games broadcast to a new partnership with WBGU-TV to the additions of a weekly sports talk radio show (The ZigZone) and overnight broadcasts. Yes, it’s been busy.
Much of that falls to junior Tyler Kavalecz.
Tyler, a communication major, serves as the Falcon Media Sports Network production director which he said “entails making weekly radio promos for Falcon Media Sports Network, training people to operate the board in the two radio stations and assisting Lucas Kleimeyer [the BG Falcon Media sports content director] in editing and posting content, along with any other duties he needs help with.”
Additionally, Tyler leads beat coverage for BG’s baseball and men’s basketball teams. He said he stays busy every day “keeping up with those sports and teams, writing stories, broadcasting games, conducting interviews, making features, making social media pieces and more.”
Tyler shared he’s always had a passion for sports media. Back in high school, he wrote stories for his school’s newspaper, The Stohion, where he was an editor for two years.
When it came to looking for colleges, Tyler said BGSU caught his attention specifically because of the Falcon Media Sports Network.
“When I was looking for colleges, Falcon Media Sports Network [previously known as the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization or BGRSO] was the main factor that drew me to BG because of the opportunities in sports media the organization provided,” he said.
Tyler joined the BG Falcon Media Sports Network team his freshman year while it was still called BGRSO and this is his first year in the executive position. He said he applied for the position the previous year but didn’t get it. That didn’t stop Tyler, though.
He applied again and, of course, got the job.
The BG Falcon Media Sports Network has had a dramatic increase in the number of games that are broadcast.
“While a lot of factors have contributed to this, one has been the growth of our organization,” he said, adding that last year the Falcon Media Sports Network had around 20 members but now boasts between 30 and 40 active members.
Additionally, Tyler said the group travels more often “due to our partnership with BGSU Athletics and donations from supporters of the organization, specifically Rick Crow with our BGSU hockey coverage and our One Day donations.”
Donations from alumni and supporters of BG Falcon Media are allowing promising students like Tyler to expand on their skills and get a head start in the media industry.
In addition to an increased number of games broadcast, the Falcon Media Sports Network also has a new partnership with WBGU-TV, the public television station in Bowling Green. Tyler said the Falcon Media Sports Network can “broadcast games with our stamp on it” in this partnership.
He shared this new partnership “was really crafted and created by Lucas Kleimeyer [the Falcon Media sports director].”
As a beat for men’s soccer, Lucas developed a strong relationship with head coach Eric Nicholas and WBGU-TV. Tyler said Lucas was able to broadcast games for men’s soccer for the first time and was able to help “craft” this new partnership with WBGU-TV. This new partnership allowed the Falcon Media Sports Network to reach further audiences within the Bowling Green community and beyond.
Additionally, in the past year, the BG Falcon Media Sports Network implemented several other initiatives including rebroadcasts, the Zig Zone and featured calls.
“The rebroadcasts were introduced by Lucas when he was in my position last year,” he said. “I have further pushed that, and we have had a rebroadcast posted to the BG Falcon Media YouTube channel for nearly every broadcast we have had this year.”
Tyler also said he has implemented rebroadcasts every night from approximately 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. on WBGU 88.1 FM.
The ZigZone, a live sports radio talk show covering everything BGSU athletics, broadcasts every Sunday afternoon. Tyler shared BG Falcon Media Director Karl Smith started the show last year, and this year student Holden Ruck hosts the show every week, joined by members of the Falcon Media Sports Network.
“It has been a great way to let our members show their personality on air and have good discussion between members about topics and news related to BGSU athletics,” Tyler said.
With all that, Tyler highlights something else he’s particularly proud of – featured calls. With this audio feature, Tyler snips out key broadcast moments to be played during timeouts during live broadcasts. These include Rhys Patrykus calling the football team’s season-opening kickoff return for a touchdown, Lucas calling the men’s soccer team’s upset victory over Western Michigan and Ben Corak calling a game-winning overtime goal in an away hockey game.
“Featured calls have been one of my favorite things I have implemented this year,” he said, adding he created double-digit featured call promos just this year and they have been a great way to highlight the broadcasts and broadcasters.
While the Falcon Media Sports Network accomplished so much in the past few years, Tyler shares the team has two major goals: Improving the quality of their content and “making the Falcon Media Sports Network a well-known, household name in Bowling Green and at BGSU.”
“We pride ourselves on broadcasting more live sporting events than any other student media organization in the country and will continue to try and improve and evolve while upholding that,” he said.
Tyler said one of The Falcon Media Sports Network’s goals is preparing students for a career in sports media.
“It will always be a place for us to continue to improve as broadcasters and sports media members,” he said. “That’s why we’re at BGSU and not working in the real world just yet.”