Each year, students broadcast dozens of Fordham sporting events on WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org). And each live broadcast, from soccer to basketball to water polo to softball and more, requires the work of a team of on-air talent, behind-the-scenes producers, in-studio hosts, and more.
This experience has helped build countless careers since the station was founded in 1947. That fall, Fordham junior and future Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, FCRH’49, called the Fordham vs. Georgetown football game “on Western Union telegraph, about 300 miles from the actual scene.” he writes. fordham rum“Keating Hall’s quiet radio studio” “turned into a beehive of activity, with at least ten men running busily but silently to the staccato beat of the telegrapher’s keys.” It provides a sense of the situation.
Although the technology has changed since then, the nature of the experience has largely remained the same. And the WFUV Sports legacy has grown to include Michael Kay, FCRH ’82, who was the voice of the Yankees. Mike Breen, FCRH ’83, voice of the Knicks. Chris Carino, GABELLI ’92, Voice of the Nets. Dan D’Uva, FCRH ’09, voice of Vegas Golden His Knights.Tony Reali, FCRH ’00, host around the horn On ESPN and more.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Julia Moss, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University in Rose Hill in 2023 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public media at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “Words can never describe what WFUV does to prepare you for the real world. Especially in New York, people look for her WFUV on resumes, and for good reason. there is.”
For students like John Warner, a third-year student at the Gabelli School of Business, being part of a broadcast crew is a dream come true.
“When I was little, I was that kid running around with a soccer ball, running around with a Wiffle ball, playing a fake announcer in my head,” he said with a smile. “To be able to do that at the level that WFUV is capable of is pretty amazing.”
During October fordham magazine He joined Warner and his fellow WFUV crew members at the annual homecoming game at Rose Hill, when Fordham football rallied for a last-minute victory against Lehigh. Here’s a glimpse of what the experience was like behind the airwaves.
10:31am The station in the basement of Keating Hall begins to fill with students who are part of the game-day crew overseen by WFUV athletic director Bobby Ciafaldini.
Will Tarrant, a junior at Fordham University in Rose Hill and the game’s on-site producer, packs up his broadcast kit, including headsets, microphones, and other equipment, in front of third-year play-by-play announcer Lou Orlando. Masu. Brian Lubacks, a fourth-year color analyst in the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University in Rose Hill, is walking across Constitution Row to the broadcast booth at Moglia Stadium. It’s been raining and it’s a wet walk.
10:52am Julia Moss, the game’s studio producer, sits behind Studio 2’s board of directors. [the broadcast] Moss, who is also the station’s sports manager, said:
We have more challenges this morning. Some members of the WFUV sports staff will be in the main sports studio to pre-film interviews. one on one, New York’s longest-running sports call-in show. That means while the microphones are in use, Moss and the game day staff have to find creative ways to communicate with each other without making noise.
“We do a lot of nonverbal cues, like highlights,” she explained, gesturing to Warner, who will host the halftime show and postgame show that day. “I always count him ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1,'” she says. [only] With hand signals. ”
“We use Snapchat (black screen) to type something in and make it bigger,” she said, using her cellphone to communicate with Warner and first-year update anchor Chris Carino. The Fordham University graduate in Rose Hill, who was seen holding a 2018 over the boards, is also the son of Brooklyn Nets anchor Chris Carino, who got his professional start on WFUV in the late 1980s.
work as a team
11:32am Orlando and Labacks, who had already called up at least five games in 2023, are reviewing their notes in preparation for the broadcast. “I think it helps a lot. When you have the same staff together, you get to know each other’s feelings and find out what each other’s tendencies are,” Labacks says. “And Lou and I are very good friends.”
Earlier in the week, Orlando had completed a “board” that would store details for each team for reference during broadcasts. But when I started lining them up, I realized that the area where I usually keep them was wet because the booth window was slightly open so the broadcast team’s “crowd mic” could pick up the fan sound.
He decided that taping the board to the booth wall was the best solution to keeping it dry.
12:07pm Back in the studio, Moss and Crinieri consider all the elements needed for broadcast. Examples include a pregame interview with Fordham coach Joe Conlin, the station’s spot promos featuring alumni such as NBA Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Breen and FCRH ’83, and graphics for the station’s YouTube streams.
“I’m like the glue that holds the work together,” Crinieri, a senior at Fordham University in Rose Hill, says with a laugh. “If there’s a problem with the highlights, I’ll be there to help. If there’s something wrong with the tie lines, I’ll get in touch with the producers on set and try to accommodate them the best I can.”
12:24pm In the pouring rain, the Tier line, the device used to connect the Moglia Stadium booth to the main studio, malfunctions, requiring Clinieri’s help.
After a few minutes of adjusting the connection and retesting, Tarrant said he was able to use it again. “Right now we’re making sure all the right buttons are pressed and the right levels are adjusted to where we need them,” he says, turning the broadcaster’s microphone back off after the test. I did. “That’s why it sounds good. And it sounds good in the studio.”
After troubleshooting the situation, Crinieri discusses a backup plan with Moss. If the line goes down again, the broadcaster will call the studio by phone.
And it’s live!
12:51pm Crinieri checks in on the student trainees who are in the studio to cut audio highlights of big plays during games. Some of these clips will be broadcast during halftime and postgame shows.
Shortly after, Moss officially “took over the station” from WFUV DJ Delphine Blue by playing a pre-recorded intro to a Fordham football pregame show hosted by Labacks and Orlando.
1:31pm As the first quarter ends with Lehigh holding a 7-0 lead, Orlando and Labacks send the broadcast back to the studio for a “scoreboard update.” For Carino, that means he can highlight scores from college football and other sports in about a minute.
After the update, he will work with Warner to remove some games from the list for the next update, as it will be tough to fit all the scores he wants to share.
1:43 p.m. The game got off to a slow start, with Fordham having trouble getting going on offense in wet conditions, but with 12 minutes left in the first half, quarterback CJ Montez ran the ball in from the 4-yard line for the Rams’ first score. was recorded. The touchdown on this day tied the score at 7 points.
For the studio crew, that meant cutting the first Fordham highlight of the day. The live broadcast is fed into her two computers in the newsroom, and the trainees, under Crinieri’s supervision, are responsible for capturing the recorded portions and saving them as new audio files.
2:13pm As halftime approaches, Moss contacts Warner to see what highlights he has in store. “We need to make sure, so we’re very cooperative.” [the team knows] “What do we have in here?” she said, pointing to the audio board. “He does the narration and then I have to act, so I always make sure the script is in exactly the same order that I have it.”
Meanwhile, Warner followed plays during the game and wrote notes on some key moments in order to host the halftime show. “When they come in, I’m at the same time he’s writing a one- or two-sentence script,” he says. “I really enjoy it because it’s an opportunity to bring a little bit of my personality into it.”
walk-off win
4:03 p.m. With about 11 minutes left in the game, Fordham trailed by 11 points in front of a lively homecoming crowd that had cheered on the Rams through hours of pouring rain. But now that the rain has eased, Fordham’s offense is starting to get into full swing.
First, CJ Montez throws a 14-yard touchdown pass to MJ Wright. Brandon Peskin then kicked a field goal to tie the game at 35 points. With less than a minute left, the Rams got the ball back and drove 62 yards in seven plays, including an 11-yard reception by Garrett Cody. His boundaries per second on the clock.
“Fordham and Lehigh are tied at 35 points and Fordham is looking for its first conference win of the season,” Orlando told listeners as Peskin returned to the field to attempt the game-clinching kick. “44 yards to go, Peskin’s kick went up, and it went through the uprights!” Fordham won his 38-35, and Brandon his Peskin was the hero in his last two seconds!”
As Orlando’s voice grew louder in the booth and fans cheered in the stands, the Rams rushed Peskin onto the field before heading to the Victory Bell in front of Rose Hill Gym to celebrate their homecoming victory. .