Mad Ants Debut on WANE-TV: Hazen and Jackson Call Action on Channel 15.2

February 12, 2017

FORT WAYNE, Indiana – The excitement of Fort Wayne Mad Ants basketball will reach more people than ever, when the team debuts its telecasts on WANE-TV in a game against the Erie Bayhawks. The Mad Ants broadcast team of Bill Hazen and Jaren Jackson will describe the action.

The telecast is the first of several scheduled to air over WANE-TV's digital channel 15.2, which carries Tribune's Antenna TV Network. This becomes the team's second move to increase market exposure through the mass media. Earlier, the Mad Ants announced an agreement with Federated Media to air several broadcasts of their games over WKJG Radio (commonly known as “ESPN 1380”). WKJG will also carry this game broadcast.

“I'm excited to bring Mad Ants basketball into our fans living rooms, said Mad Ants team President Tim Bawmann. “WANE-TV has helped make this a reality!”

Under second-year coach Steve Gansey, the Mad Ants are enjoying a very exciting season in the NBA Development League. Gansey, the D-League's “Coach of the Month” for November, has guided the Mad Ants into strong playoff contention with one of the league's best overall records.

“This is very compelling basketball,” said Mad Ants broadcaster Bill Hazen. “In many ways, this team reminds me of the Mad Ants championship team.

“The athletic skills are fantastic, and there's outstanding leadership on the court. Having broadcast in the NBA for a number of years, I can tell you without question the D-League replicates the real NBA experience.”

The Mad Ants feature a broadcast team with plenty of NBA experience in their own right. Hazen is a former NBA broadcaster for the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls (Michael Jordan's first TV announcer), Indiana Pacers and ESPN International. Jackson, former coach of the Mad Ants, carved out a solid NBA career culminating in an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in the 1998-1999 season. He also played with seven other NBA teams.

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College Sports Weekly Airs 200th Edition: Special Guest is Marketing Guru Russ Potts

CHICAGO – Hall of Fame marketing legend Russ Potts is the special guest for the 200th edition of College Sports Weekly. Widely considered as the father of modern-era college sports marketing, Potts organizes and produces major athletic events through his company, Russ Potts Productions.

A master marketer, Potts is best known for the revolutionary Mustang Mania marketing campaign, propelling SMU to new heights of fan support and community awareness. He was the first Sports Marketing Director in college athletics.

Potts served as athletic director at SMU during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Prior to his arrival, a football game between Rice and SMU had drawn 6,000 fans in the giant 72,000-seat Cotton Bowl. Asked about the over 60,000 empty seats, Potts stated he saw 60,000 opportunities and boldly predicted the two schools would play in front of 60,000 fans the next time they met in Dallas. Two years later, in one of the most incredible marketing achievements in college sports history, Rice and SMU drew 66,000 fans.

College Sports Weekly host Bill Hazen crossed paths with Potts when Hazen was named Sports Director at WFAA in Dallas. Already a Southwest Conference football announcer on the Mutual Southwest Network, Hazen described both SMU football and basketball. His descriptions of Eric Dickerson and Craig James (the Mustangs' famed Pony Express backfield) are captured in ESPN's Peabody Award-winning series, 30 for 30.

Hazen also hosted a weekly show with SMU's athletic director, The Russ Potts Show. The program achieved considerable notoriety as Potts fielded questions on college athletics from fans each week.

Today Russ Potts runs his own sports marketing firm, Russ Potts Productions. He remains one of the nation's leading authorities on the marketing of college athletics. He is a member of six Halls of Fame, most recently enshrined in the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators.

“Russ Potts has most certainly touched my life,” said Hazen. “I watched him work up close, and I got a doctorate-level education how college athletics should be both marketed and administrated.

“College Sports Weekly is about wonderful people like Russ Potts. Russ has much to share about the state of college athletics. I'm so pleased he is our guest for our 200th program!”

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Added Exposure for StadiumsUSA Radio: Yahoo Sports Radio Adds Second Airing

March 6, 2016

CHICAGO – Fans of the innovative StadiumsUSA Radio program will now have two chances to hear it weekly on Yahoo Sports Radio. The network announced a second weekly airing for the show, which is growing in popularity among YSR listeners.

The radio program is the creation of Mark Madorin, a Chicago-area native and founder of the StadiumsUSA web site, and Chicago-based sports broadcaster Bill Hazen. Jeff Schmidt is the program’s Executive Producer. StadiumsUSA Radio offers a unique sports perspective, focusing on subjects such as stadium history, stadium design and stadium connections to their communities. In addition to its usual 8:00AM (ET) national airing on Saturday morning, the program will also be rebroadcast at 5:00AM (ET) Sunday morning.

“This is another step forward in growth,” said Hazen, who hosts the program. “It's a great collaboration, and I'm particularly pleased for Mark and Jeff. They've worked very hard on this project.

“How do you beat Joe Theismann, Fred Lynn and Jeremy Roenick sharing their unique perspectives about places like RFK Stadium, Notre Dame Stadium, Fenway Park and Chicago Stadium? Our listeners have heard from architects, stadium managers, developers and team management about new stadiums under construction. I also believe our coverage of the Los Angeles NFL relocation game was unparalleled. We featured NFL executives and journalists who have followed the entire process, start to finish.”

“StadiumsUSA Radio is unique storytelling that gets to the heart of why we all became sports fans - the stadium experience,” said Yahoo Sports Radio Program Director Craig Larson.

The program is produced and distributed by Bill Hazen Productions (BHP), specializing in the creation, production and distribution of sports-related radio programming. StadiumsUSA Radio is one of a four radio programs in the current BHP portfolio, which includes the nationally-syndicated College Sports Weekly, and two regional syndications: Today in Conference USA and Talking Conference USA Football/Basketball.

Yahoo Sports Radio began in 1991 as the Sports Entertainment Network, based in Las Vegas, NV. In 1993, it was purchased by Chicago-based One-On-One Sports, moved to suburban Northbrook, and renamed the One-On-One Sports Network. In 2000, the network was sold to The Sporting News and renamed Sporting News Radio. In 2007, Sporting News Radio moved from the Chicago suburbs to Santa Monica, CA. Three years later, it moved to Houston, TX and in 2011 became Yahoo Sports Radio. There is currently no Chicago-area affiliate of the network, but it can also be heard through its web site and mobile apps. Yahoo Sports Radio recently added the 500th radio station to its lineup.

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Region Sports Readies for 2015 Football Season: Bill Hazen Reunited with RSN Sports Team

HIGHLAND, Indiana – The upcoming 2015 football season promises to be among the most exciting in memory, as Region Sports Network finalizes its Northwest Indiana broadcast schedule. For years the undisputed leader in Region prep sports broadcasting, RSN is welcoming Bill Hazen back to the announce team.

Hazen will debut on RSN's coverage of the 50th anniversary of Munster High School football. The Mustangs will host powerful Lake Central Friday night. RSN President and owner Chris Ramirez will provide analysis for the historic evening, with the RSN broadcast airing over Key 90.5fm (WRTW) and regionsports.com. RSN will also provide extensive pre and post-game coverage, as well as on-demand coverage of each broadcast through the web site.

“Bill is a veteran who delivers a classic broadcast every time. His body of work speaks for itself,” said Ramirez. “When it became apparent Bill was available, I went all out to get him. I'm glad he's back."

“I am so very pleased to be selected for this assignment,” said Hazen. “I remember many pleasant Friday nights covering football in Northwest Indiana. I think this year has the potential to be one of the most compelling years in memory.

“For years Region Sports has done a terrific job and performed a vital service to sports fans throughout Northwest Indiana,” Hazen continued. “RSN has been a technical innovator too, among the very first to utilize Internet resources to feed game broadcasts back to the studio for airing. It's been fun to be a part of that, and I look forward to our pace-setting broadcasts this year!”

Ramirez, whose company has broadcast nearly 3,000 sporting events, likes what Hazen brings to table. "We've always been open to finding and creating ways to improve on what we're doing. With Bill back on the mic and his expertise at operating remotely without assistance from the studio, we'll be able utilize our resources in other ways," he said.

"An extra pair hands in the studio on Friday nights will mean better in-game production; more on-screen graphics and quicker scoring updates. It usually takes all the manpower available to pull off what we've done traditionally on game night, so this season with the added digital platforms and Bill's ability to manage his entire broadcast on location, this will allow our studio personnel focus on those other duties."

Hazen has worked extensively on sports assignments in Indiana over the past fifteen years. A former TV voice of the Chicago Bulls, he also called the Indiana Pacers in the late '80's. Minor league basketball brought him back to the state in 2000, and he began working with Region Sports in 2002. For the last seven years, Hazen has called the action for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. Last season several of his game broadcasts were carried by ESPN, including the NBADL Semifinals.

Hazen also runs his own broadcast production operation, which creates, produces and distributes syndicated radio programming. Bill Hazen Productions produces programs for Conference USA, which air over a large regional network. BHP's newest production is StadiumsUSA Radio, produced in conjunction with the popular stadiumsusa.com web site. The program is heard nationally each Saturday morning on Yahoo Sports Radio. BHP's other national offering, College Sports Weekly, airs through direct syndication. Approximately 175 radio stations carry programming produced by BHP.

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Hazen and Hoehne to Announce NBADL Playoffs: Mad Ants Broadcasts Among Those Featured on ESPN

CHICAGO – The announce team of Bill Hazen and Keith Hoehne will tip off the NBA Development League postseason Tuesday night, as they describe the opening game of the playoff series matching the Maine Redclaws and the defending D-League champion Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. The game will be carried nationally by ESPNU, and will be the first NBADL playoff game aired by the network. ESPN will carry a significant schedule of NBADL regular season and playoff games beginning next season.

Hazen is no stranger to ESPN, having worked on NBA basketball, Major League baseball and NFL football for ESPN International. During the network's infancy, Hazen described the action of the Mesquite Rodeo for the network under a package of telecasts produced by High Bar Productions. Hazen has described NBA action on television for three teams, Chicago, Indiana and Houston. He has served at the Mad Ants' microphone for seven seasons. He has also called college action for most Chicago-area schools, Notre Dame, Missouri, SMU, Marquette and Game of the Week telecasts for the Southwest Conference, the Mid-American Conference and the Summit League (then known as the Mid-Con).

Hoehne is in his third year on the Mad Ants' broadcast team. He works as a project producer for Chicago-based Intersport, as well as the Executive Producer for Bill Hazen Productions.

“I'm so pleased for the NBA Development League and everyone in the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants family,” Hazen said. “Our goal will be to fully capture the action and excitement of the game, and introduce the fascinating stories that are an integral part of this league. The D-League is growing rapidly, and I believe fans will be very impressed with the quality of basketball the league presents.

“There are some very good broadcasters in the league, as well. It's great to see them have an opportunity for exposure through the ESPN family of networks.”

For more information on the NBADL, its member teams and the playoffs, visit their web site: http://dleague.nba.com/. For more information on Bill Hazen Productions, visit billhazenproductions.com.

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