University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Sports Radio Names Stations, Announcers
August 02, 2004 | General
Aug. 2, 2004
Amherst, Mass. - The UMass Sports Radio Network has announced its station line-up and the broadcast crews for football, basketball, and hockey for the coming season. For the third straight year, WRNX 100.9 FM in Holyoke, will serve as the flagship station on the network, airing all three sports plus the weekly coaches shows. The station reaches the entire Pioneer Valley from southern Vermont down into Connecticut. The UMass football affiliates will include WATD 95.9 FM in Marshfield and WCAP 980 AM in Lowell. UMass basketball can also be heard on WATD and WCRN 830 AM in Worcester. This season, select hockey games will also be broadcast on WCRN. All of the game broadcasts and coaches shows can be heard live on the internet through www.umassathletics.com. WCRN, new to the network this season, is a 50,000 watt AM station that will cover the area from Worcester to Boston. WATD's signal reaches Boston south out to Cape Cod and WCAP covers the area north of Boston towards New Hampshire. "Getting WCRN is big for us," said Bob Behler, UMass' Manager of Broadcast Properties. "We have not been in central Massachusetts for a while and it also gives us a greater presence in the Boston area." Behler, a three-time winner of the Associated Press award for radio play-by-play in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, enters his sixth season calling the action for UMass football and basketball. Joining him in the booth to provide color commentary on the football broadcasts is former kicker Doug White. White was named UMass' student-athlete of the year in 2003 and ranks as the all-time leader in career field goal percentage at .771. Former wide receiver Johnson Owumi will be the sideline reporter. He caught 18 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns last year after transferring from UMass-Lowell. "I have known Doug White since he was a freshman," said Behler. "I think he will be excellent. He is personable and knowledgeable and I feel there will be an energy and chemistry in the booth that will be fun to listen to. I also think Johnson Owumi will be able to add a lot about the players on the team now, having played last season." On the basketball side, Kevin Kennedy returns to the color commentator's role. This is a spot he occupied on home games from 1989-95. He was head basketball coach at Cathedral High School in Springfield from 1985-97. "I wanted to find someone who had knowledge of the game and the UMass tradition," said Behler. "After listening to some of his old broadcasts on tape, I feel that we found a winner in Kevin Kennedy. He is experienced and articulate and I'm looking forward to working with him." The hockey broadcast crew will once again feature Donnie Moorhouse on play-by-play and Brock Hines providing analysis. Moorhouse, host of WRNX's afternoon show, "Donnie's Used Cars," enters his third season with the network., Hines, the senior member of the UMass Sports Radio crew, is back for his 12th season on Minuteman hockey. Adam Frenier returns for his third season as studio producer for game broadcasts and coaches shows. He will also be the scoreboard show host. The football and hockey coaches shows will once again be broadcast live from the Hangar Pub & Grill in Amherst, while the men's and women's basketball coaches shows will have a new home at La Cucina Di Pinocchio in Amherst. The first football show with Coach Don Brown will be Thursday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. The hockey show with Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon will begin in October and the basketball shows with coaches Steve Lappas and Marnie Dacko will start in November. Behler hosts the football and men's and women's basketball shows, while Moorhouse is the host for the hockey program. This fall, "The Maroon & White Report" will air one-hour before kickoff on flagship station, WRNX, as well as over the internet through www.umassathletics.com. It is a 30-minute show that spotlights the entire athletic department and will feature interviews with two or three newsmakers each week. Behler hosts the show that premieres Saturday, Sept. 4 at 12 Noon.