Student produced sports show coming to channel 25

Fans of the Marshall Thundering Herd have a new way to get their sports news.

"Thundering Herd Sports" is a new show that will debut at 7 p.m. on channel 25, Marshall's educational access channel, Saturday.

The production is a 15 to 20 minute show that will focus on all things concerning Marshall athletics.

"It gives exposure to the teams at Marshall that would not get any attention at all otherwise," said Patrick Webb, senior radio/television production and management major from Huntington.

Webb is the show's creator and host.

The show started off as an idea for an independent study in television and as a way to add more content to Marshall's Comcast channel, Webb said.

"It's going to create awesome programming for this educational access channel," said Jamie LoFiego, executive producer of the student-broadcast show "Up Late."

Webb said other local channels have around three minutes devoted to sports, but "Thundering Herd Sports" will be much more in-depth.

Webb said the show will expand beyond basketball and football and put focus on other varsity sports teams, as well as club teams.

"They put in a lot of work," Webb said. "There's no difference between what they do and what the football team does, so why not give exposure to women's swimming or track and field?"

Viewers will get to know coaches and players in a way they haven't before, LoFiego said.

"It's going to be a great inside look to Marshall athletics that no other entity in the region does," LoFiego said. "It's going to be something fresh, new, exciting, and I can't wait for it to happen."

There are several students already involved with the show, and each week, seven to eight students will be responsible for doing sports packages, which consist of getting footage and interviews. They will also have the opportunity to do stand-up interviews and get the chance to be on TV, Webb said.

The show will be available online at YouTube.com/MarshallTHS as well as on  channel 25.

The YouTube channel will give those who don't have access to channel 25 a way to see the show, Webb said.

"It's a good opportunity for all the journalists who are involved and for the players to get exposure where they wouldn't normally," Webb said. "A high goal to reach for would be to make it a class for the sports journalism students," Webb said. "It would be really great for them to get a chance to take a class where they have to do sports television."

Webb said the show is not limited to journalism majors, and anyone who is interested can be involved.

Rebecca Stephens can be contacted at stephens107@marshall.edu.