CHICAGO – The 400th edition of the program College Sports Weekly is a proud milestone for the team that's produced and distributed the program from the outset. That team remains virtually the same as the team that launched CSW in September of 2012.
The original concept for the program remains as it was in the beginning...a look at the internal day-to-day operations of college athletics. Bill Hancock, now Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, was the program's first guest.
Over the years, listeners have heard from a fascinating group of coaches, athletes and administrators whose influence has helped to shape the landscape of college sports. This is the handiwork of CSW's coordinating producer (and former PR chief for both the Big 12 and the Southwest Conference), Bo Carter.
College Sports Weekly explores the influences driving and shaping college athletics. Chief among those is television, which provides both significant revenue and the exposure necessary to support recruiting. CSW has covered the birth of the various conference TV networks, as well as the staggering revenues they have produced for the conferences and their member schools.
Few people know this territory better than Rex Lardner, who has served as an executive at NBC Sports, CBS Sports and Turner Sports. He shares his thoughts each week on the evolving media landscape in a segment called Talking Shop.
Celebrated sports broadcaster Gene DeLisio provides another unique segment for CSW, The Small College Beat. Delivered in a sportscast style, DeLisio presents regular coverage of college sports below the Division One level. This is reporting that is difficult to find anywhere, not even considering as an integral part of a major college sports production.
Three years before it happened, CSW listeners learned that Clemson was about to become a real power in college football. Coach John Jenkins, a CSW regular since 2014, reported the Tigers' rapidly-improving young linemen. Clemson's ascension to national championship caliber was no surprise for CSW listeners. The coach, whose Houston Cougars shattered numerous NCAA passing records, remains a proud member of the CSW team.
College Sports Weekly is produced and distributed by Bill Hazen Productions, with Hazen serving as the program's host. Keith Hoehne remains the program's Executive Producer, providing his expertise in sports production and distribution.
CSW is one of ten major productions undertaken by BHP, including Rockin' With the Shamrocks, This Week in the AIFA, Today in Conference USA, Talking Conference USA Football, Talking Conference USA Basketball, Talking College Baseball (the forerunner to College Sports Weekly), Stadiums USA Radio and Mad Ants' Insider. Total production exceeds over 2,000 programs.
“I'm very proud of what our team has achieved through the years,” said Hazen, reflecting back on BHP's considerable portfolio. “Our first goal has always been to do work that's a credit to the profession. I hope we've done that, and I'm very hopeful for the future."
-30-