OmniSports Media is one of the radio shows featured weekly on WMCX 88.9. The sports show, hosted by Dean Heidel, is live every Friday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and covers various sports with a focus on Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
Heidel is joined by his co-hosts Michael Morgan, Daniel Connolly, Matthew Cioletti, and Jason Veres.
Segments including ‘underdog of the week’ are featured for football. The hosts select a ‘sleeper pick’ on an underdog team to win that week. While this is not specifically a segment, at OmniSports, a lot of sound effects from SpongeBob are used throughout the broadcast, especially when someone has a sports perspective that is widely disagreed with.
Heidel, a senior communication major, got his start on the radio early in his college career. He said, “I really wanted to get on air, I started freshman year and wanted my own show, I started TV in HS and wanted to start a podcast, so what better way to start then doing radio?”
Connolly, a senior communication major, unlike Heidel, was apprehensive about joining OmniSports Media, taking the dive into communication after switching from marine and environmental biology and policy. He said, “Me and Dean had talked about doing a show together, but at first, I was nervous about getting on the air. He convinced me to join the show after I switched my major. I love chopping it up with the guys every week and it is such a fun way to interact with all of them.”
Those interactions are what make OmniSports Media a unique sports talk show, allowing the hosts to showcase their personalities. Heidel said, “We really are kind of unfiltered and honest. We speak about sports as if we would at a dinner table or bar with friends, and we add a lot of info about our personal lives and experiences at games to complement our conversation and make it feel more personal.”
Frank Hoarle, a junior communication major, is a fan of the show. He said, “I think that they are a group of guys and they’re passionate about it. I think they express that very well with what they do. It’s an honor to be able to tune into their show every week.”
The show is driven by the host’s passion for the sports industry. Connolly explained, “… We aren’t in the industry yet where it is literally these guys’ jobs to watch sports all the time, this is a way for us to show what it’s like to be a sports fan as a college student.”
He continued, “I think that since I was introduced to sports as a young kid, my passion for my favorite teams has been able to grow so much. I love watching my teams play (and often lose) but the passion is always there.”
Above all, being a part of a weekly broadcast at WMCX has been a useful learning experience. “Hosting a radio show is a little scary to be honest, my view definitely changed, you have to be aware of everything you say and do, it comes with a lot of responsibility, it also opened me up to people disagreeing with me, not everyone is going to like what I say, and I have to accept that it’s part of being a host,” explained Heidel.
Connolly agreed with the sentiment, and he concluded, “Being a host has shown me that a lot of preparation goes into this, a lot more than I thought. It’s actually kind of fun how much you need to pay attention to what is happening each week because that just means you get to watch even more of your favorite thing.”
OmniSports Media will also be featured in the next Episode of Hawk TV News on Channel 12-1, available to watch around campus. The episode will also be on the Hawk TV YouTube channel, @HawkTVMU.
To keep up to date with OmniSports Media, follow them on Instagram, @omnisportsmediaa.
