Executive Director of Student Involvement Mike Keup received an email from aspiring broadcaster Alex Vonkeudell in the spring of 2014 asking him if Bradley streamed and broadcasted its club hockey games. At the time, the answer was no.
“Shortly afterwards, the head coach of the team, J.P. Fitzgerald, reached out to me and informed me that the idea had recently crossed his mind,” VonKeudell, a senior said. “The timing there was impeccable.”
Keup and his staff had been researching the idea for a few years because other club teams streamed games, and parents as well as alumni showed interest.
“When Alex reached out to me, I immediately turned the tables and told him to research options for streaming equipment so we could work out a budget and make decisions on the specifics we needed,” Keup said.
VonKeudell accepted the challenge and presented a couple of different options for recording equipment to Keup.
“We wanted to find value in our equipment,” Keup said. “We didn’t buy the most expensive equipment, but we didn’t buy the cheapest either. We want these to last.”
The next step in the process was finding a color commentator for the games, which is where senior sports communication major Joe Muting came into play.
“The decision to broadcast and stream started before I became involved,” Muting said. “But the main reason I joined was to reach the parents of the players.”
Finding the equipment was not the only challenge the pair has had to face; each game presents a new challenge.
“The biggest challenge is the players and their names,” Muting said. “That, as well as not knowing a ton of info on the other teams can be difficult.”
Getting to broadcast these games has been a great experience for the team as well as the broadcasters themselves, according to Team Captian Cameron Cordts.
“When I first heard that they were going to stream our games, I thought it was a cool idea and a great way to reach the parents and friends of players who live far away,” the senior finance major said. “I know of a couple families that have come up to the coach and I, complementing how good the commentators are and the quality of the streaming.”
The most rewarding part of the whole process, according to VonKeudell, has simply been to be around the game of hockey.
“The best part is calling the game I love and being a vessel of excitement and professionalism to our audience,” VonKeudell said.
The Braves are at home this weekend with a game at 9:15 p.m. Friday and another at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, both at the Owens Center. If unable to attend, students can tune into fasthockey.net and watch the live broadcast for $10 per game or $27 for one month’s subscription.
