Estimated read time: 9-10 minutes
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With gameday one week away, I figured I would lay out KSL Newsradio's season-long plans to bring you "closer to the Cougars" than ever before--as only BYU's flagship radio station can.
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Starting on Monday, we will bring you live, streaming coverage of Bronco Mendenhall's Weekly Press Conference from Legends Grille on the BYU campus. You can hear Bronco on ksl.com via the "X-Stream" channel at 10:00am, to its conclusion between 10:15 and 10:30. (To access the X-Stream, click the Radio tab at ksl.com, then click "Click Here to Listen Live to KSL Newsradio." Then scroll down to the "KSL X-Stream" tab and choose your listening option).
As soon as the weekly press conference has concluded, it will be immediately uploaded to the web for podcast and download (from the "Bronco's Weekly Press Conference" page in the BYU Sports Menu at ksl.com). Additionally, it will appear as an audio link on the "Cougar Tracks" web page, in the "Cougar Cuts" section.
At least two BYU Football players also attend the weekly press conference, and this season (for the first time), we will also post the player interviews from the press conference to the web on the "Cougar Tracks" page, in the "Cougar Cuts" section. All "Cougar Cuts" interviews throughout the season are available for podcast.
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Monday and Thursday mornings throughout the season, Bronco Mendenhall can be heard in the "Coach's Corner," as I conduct a brief interview airing live on "Utah's Morning News with Grant and Amanda." You can hear the "Coach's Corner" Mondays and Thursdays at 8:45am on 1160 AM and 102.7 FM, and on ksl.com via the main streaming channel.
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Wednesday night means the "Bronco Mendenhall Show" on KSL Newsradio and ksl.com, with the show airing live from 7:00-8:00pm. Once again this season, the show will be broadcast each week from one of the four Utah County Ken Garff Dealers. The show schedule for this season is as follows:
Wed Aug 27: Ken Garff Honda (115 East University Parkway, Orem)
Wed Sept 3: Ken Garff Nissan (285 West University Parkway, Orem)
Wed Sept 10: Ken Garff Ford (597 East 1000 South, American Fork)
Wed Sept 17: Ken Garff Porsche/Audi/VW (195 East University Parkway, Orem)
-bye week-
Wed Oct 1: Ken Garff Honda
Wed Oct 8: Ken Garff Nissan
Tue Oct 14 (team leaves Wednesday for Thursday game at TCU): Ken Garff Ford
Wed Oct 22: Ken Garff Porsche/Audi/VW
Wed Oct 29: Ken Garff Honda
Wed Nov 5: Ken Garff Nissan
Wed Nov 12: Ken Garff Ford
Wed Nov 19: Ken Garff Porsche/Audi/VW
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Details will follow in a couple of days, but we expect the shows to be even bigger and better than last season. The Ken Garff Dealers have really stepped up to help make these shows lively and entertaining, and as always, fans are welcome and encouraged to be a part of the live "studio audience."
Listeners are also free to call, e-mail and text us their questions and comments for Bronco, who always shoots straight and gives you the best hour of refreshing and candid "Coach-speak" in the country.
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Thursday and Friday mornings and afternoons at 8:15am and 4:15pm, I produce and pre-record short (60-90 second) game preview pieces that can be heard on KSL Newsradio and ksl.com. "Cougar Matchup" will provide news, notes, stats and storylines for BYU and its weekly opponent.
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Gameday coverage starts on KSL Newsradio and ksl.com two hours before kickoff with the "Cougar Countdown Show." New host Andrew Adams will be joined by game analyst Marc Lyons and sideline reporter Nate Meikle for a lively first hour, featuring the opposing broadcaster's perspective on the day's game, a look at college football around the league and the country, a recap of the week's best "Bronco Bites," analysis from Lyons ("Ask Lyons") and Meikle ("Nate's Notes"), a look back at the last meeting between the two teams ("Cougar Rewind"), a preview from me upstairs in the broadcast booth, and more--all packed into a fast-paced 60-minute show.
As has been the case for years, pregame coverage of home games will originate live in the Lavell Edwards Stadium West Parking Lot, and we invite all Cougar fans to gather round and be a vocal part of the proceedings!
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Coverage continues with the "Cougar Pregame Scoreboard Show," in which you will hear a weekly in-depth interview with the opposing head coach, as well as get caught up on the day's other big games.
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Once Marc and I take over in the booth (roughly 35 minutes prior to kickoff), you get the "Cougar Pregame Coach's Show" with Bronco Mendenhall, as I meet exclusively with Bronco before the game for his thoughts leading up to the day's contest.
The "Cougar Kickoff Show" follows, as Marc, Nate and I break down the game and set the table for what's to come.
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From kickoff through the end of the fourth quarter, sit back and enjoy our play-by-play broadcast (I'm told you can watch a live camera feed of our booth on ksl.com this year--details to follow), then stay tuned for at least two hours of jam-packed postgame coverage, including more LIVE coach and player reaction than ever before.
This year, in addition to the exclusive LIVE player and Bronco interviews you get ONLY on KSL, we will be carrying the postgame press conference (featuring Bronco and players) after home games this season. No other radio station can carry LIVE postgame comments and reaction, and only KSL will bring it to you. Other stations may only carry up to three minutes per hour of recorded comments, but KSL brings you Bronco and his players the moment they address the media, with no time limits.
As mentioned, you will still hear LIVE BYU player interviews with Marc, Nate and me on the "Cougar Lockerroom Show" (at least 3 players after every game), and you will still hear Bronco Mendenhall talking at length with us on the "Cougar Postgame Coach's Show." The questions you want asked, by the broadcasters who called the game, ONLY on your "Home of the Cougars."
No other radio station may carry any live interviews with any BYU player or coach (on- or off-campus) from two hours before kickoff until two hours after the game ends, so you only need to listen to one radio station to get LIVE coverage from the start to the finish of your Cougar gameday. Additionally, no other radio station may broadcast live from Lavell Edwards Stadium or the BYU campus during that same time frame, so only KSL will bring you the true "feel of football" in Provo this fall.
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The "Cougar Call-In Show" has truly evolved, from a radio show featuring phone calls, to a world-wide electronic and telephonic phenomenon, as we welcome e-mails, text messages, and yes, good ol' fashioned phone calls from literally around the globe. A typical show will bounce from Blanding, to Berlin, to Brazil in a matter of minutes. BYU Cougar Football fans are seemingly found in every country on the world map, and we hear from many of those fans after every BYU game. The global scope of BYU's fan base is still staggering to me, and I think it's unprecedented in the world of college football. Tune in one week, and you'll hear what I mean!
Our final broadcast element is "Cougar Replay," a highlight-based recap of that day's game--the last word as you pull into the garage, or turn in for the night.
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In addition to all of the aforementioned over-the-air and online broadcast offerings, you will still get my blog "Cougar Tracks," which you have helped make a record-setting page destination at ksl.com. I will contribute as frequently as I am inspired (which is usually very often), and I hope it will continue to be a preferred source or insight, access and credibility. The blog has sort of "taken over" my journalistic life, and at times, I feel like a beat writer in addition to being a play-by-play broadcaster!
Also, you can get scoring updates texted to you throughout the season by simply texting the letters "BYU " to 57500.
And, don't forget, the audio from every football game, Bronco Mendenhall Show, and Weekly Press Conference is archived at ksl.com for playback whenever you prefer. Of course, the same audio available on archive is available for podcast. In the "BYU Sports Menu" at ksl.com, click on "BYU Podcast Feeds" for details. While audio archives for the Bronco Mendenhall Show and Weekly Press Conference are uploaded at the conclusion of the program, audio archives for the game broadcasts are uploaded after each hour of pregame coverage, the after every quarter of game play, then after each hour of postgame coverage.
You can also see a graphic representation of BYU's football schedule, and get graphic scoring updates within the "BYU Sports Menu." By the way, the quickest way to get to BYU Sports from ksl.com is to click on the oval "Y" logo link from the "Sports" tab. And note that when basketball season rolls around, much of what is offered for football coverage is offered for coverage of hoops, too.
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A final thought:
BYU and KSL have a unique association through common ownership and many common objectives. As the mission of the BYU Football program is not merely to win games, the mission of KSL and its parent company Bonneville International is not merely to win the ratings or revenue games.
Bronco Mendenhall's mission is to improve the lives of his players and the lives of the people they may inspire, with football serving as the vehicle for change. At KSL/Bonneville, our mission is to provide "services that entertain, inform, and lift our audiences. Our communities are better because we get involved and make a difference."
I would like to think that the BYU/KSL partnership works because we're both in it for the same reasons. Today's sports media environment often showcases content that is increasingly sensational and caustic, and frequently irresponsible and valueless. KSL's commitment to values-based, quality coverage of its keystone athletic property is one that extends from the most senior executive, down to my freelance gameday statistician Ralph Sokolowsky. We know that our listeners expect us to maintain a standard of excellence for which KSL has always been known, and it's our genuine pleasure to provide coverage we hope meets that standard.
The concluding line of my company's mission statement is "Winning with Integrity, we're proud to be Bonneville!" I am proud to be affiliated with such a corporation, and by extension, such an institution as BYU and its football program, for which "Winning with Integrity" is also a hallmark.
In closing, I couldn't be more excited for the season ahead. Stay tuned, and enjoy the ride!
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