Students from Marshall University’s public radio station, WMUL-FM, received two first-place awards and three second-place awards in the metropolitan classification during the sixth annual “The Virginias” Associated Press Broadcasters awards ceremony April 6 at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs.
Dr. Chuck G. Bailey, professor of radio-television production and management in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University and faculty manager of WMUL-FM, said for the second time the university’s radio station competed in the Radio I/ Metropolitan Division with the major commercial and noncommercial radio stations from throughout Virginia and West Virginia.
“Winning the 2018 Outstanding Sports Operation of the Virginias and Best Sports Play-by-Play first-place awards are an amazing accomplishment considering that the FM 88 sports staff did this in back-to-back years in the Radio I/Metropolitan Division while competing against veteran broadcasting professionals working for all the major news/sports talk radio stations across both West Virginia and Virginia,” Bailey said. “It is the third straight year WMUL-FM has won the Virginias Outstanding Sports Operation as the 2016 award came in the non-metro division. WMUL-FM was named the Outstanding Sports Operation for the 10th time overall since 1985.
“These five total awards won this past weekend at the Greenbrier helps to build upon another successful award-winning year and demonstrates the value of this campus radio station to Marshall University, the College of Arts and Media and the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications.”
The two first-place station and individual award-winning entries were:
Outstanding Sports Operation for The Virginias. The FM 88 sports staff was led by the 2018 WMUL-FM sports directors Luke Creasy, a recent graduate from Huntington, during the spring semester and Spencer DuPuis, a junior from Leesburg, Virginia, during the fall semester.
Best Sports Play-by-Play, for WMUL-FM’s broadcast of Marshall men’s basketball versus University of Toledo played at the Cam Henderson Center in December of 2018. The students calling the men’s basketball game broadcast over FM 88.1 were: Play-by-play announcer Spencer DuPuis; color commentator Nick Verzolini, a sophomore from Stewartstown, Pennsylvania; and engineer Austin Hinkle, a freshman from Eleanor.
The three second place award winning entries were:
Best Newscast, for the “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” broadcast on April 6, 2018. The students who participated in this newscast were producer Spencer DuPuis; anchor Adam Rogers, a graduate from Milton; anchor Makaylah Wheeler, a sophomore from Huntington; weather reporter Tristan Poston, a junior from Huntington; and sports anchor Nick Verzolini.
Best Sports Anchor, for a compilation of work written and announced by sports anchor Spencer DuPuis, broadcast during the “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88” throughout 2018.
Best Sports Play-by-Play, for WMUL-FM’s broadcast of Marshall football versus the University of Texas at San Antonio played at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in November 2018. The students calling the game were play-by-play announcer Nick Verzolini; color commentator Andrew Rogers, a freshman from Clarksburg; and engineer Spencer DuPuis.
The Metro Radio entries were judged by Associated Press affiliated professional radio personnel in Dallas, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Muncie, Indiana; and Springfield, Illinois.