April 11, 2024
Ferris State’s ‘Behind the Bulldogs’ podcast wins top college sportscast at student broadcasting awards
“Behind the Bulldogs,” a podcast highlighting Ferris State University Athletics, earned top honors from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Student Awards for an episode about the hockey team.
Students in Ferris State’s Television and Digital Media Production program also were recognized, earning second place honors in two categories.
Brandon Wirth and Joe Nagy started collaborating as freshman communications students in 2019 and started with the show “The MVSP” on Spotify. Last year they debuted “Behind the Bulldogs,” a partnership with Ferris State Athletics, and have expanded to 11 platforms and the Big Rapids Radio Network.
The duo earned first place honors in the Sportscast category for a “Behind the Bulldogs” episode with hockey goaltender Logan Stein posted on Nov. 30, 2023, and second place in the category for a “The MVSP” episode that aired in March 2023.
“What’s crazy about the whole thing is that it started with a text from Brandon asking if I wanted to do a sports podcast,” Nagy said. “I had some free time in my schedule so I thought, ‘Why not? This could be fun.’ Fast forward four years, 250 episodes, and a lot of hard work, we’re receiving these honors for the show.”
Wirth and Nagy were presented with the awards at an event in Lansing late last month.
The two waited to hear their names called alongside a group from Michigan State University representing the “Green and White Report.”
“While we were standing at the staging area, I was thinking about how far we had come,” Wirth said. “Once we heard the Michigan State group announced as the honorable mention, Joe and I immediately looked at each other with a smile and a fist bump. It was a surreal moment that wouldn’t happen without the support of our great fans sticking with us and helping us grow.”
“Behind the Bulldogs” covers all 17 Ferris State sports with matchup previews, game recaps, stats, analysis, and behind the scenes interviews with Bulldog coaches, players, and staff.
The show currently has more than 550 social media followers as well as hundreds of weekly listeners through podcast platforms. “Behind the Bulldogs” also airs every Saturday at 3 p.m. on NewsRadio WBRN via 96.5 FM, 107.7 FM,1460 AM, WBRN.com, and the WBRN mobile app.
A list of episodes is available at this link.
TDMP students were recognized for their work in two categories.
Micah Sealock, Emma VanDongen, Davis Fosgitt, and Nathan Hebel earned second place for their documentary “Mystic Michigan: Light Within the Darkness.” Professor Nick Kuiper was the adviser for the project.
Kelsey Meyers and Chad Andres were presented with second place honors in the Talk Show/Scripted Show category for their Ferris Sports Update program. They are advised by professor Glen Okonoski, who is the director of the School of Digital Media.