HIGHLAND, Indiana – The upcoming 2015 football season promises to be among the most exciting in memory, as Region Sports Network finalizes its Northwest Indiana broadcast schedule. For years the undisputed leader in Region prep sports broadcasting, RSN is welcoming Bill Hazen back to the announce team.
Hazen will debut on RSN's coverage of the 50th anniversary of Munster High School football. The Mustangs will host powerful Lake Central Friday night. RSN President and owner Chris Ramirez will provide analysis for the historic evening, with the RSN broadcast airing over Key 90.5fm (WRTW) and regionsports.com. RSN will also provide extensive pre and post-game coverage, as well as on-demand coverage of each broadcast through the web site.
“Bill is a veteran who delivers a classic broadcast every time. His body of work speaks for itself,” said Ramirez. “When it became apparent Bill was available, I went all out to get him. I'm glad he's back."
“I am so very pleased to be selected for this assignment,” said Hazen. “I remember many pleasant Friday nights covering football in Northwest Indiana. I think this year has the potential to be one of the most compelling years in memory.
“For years Region Sports has done a terrific job and performed a vital service to sports fans throughout Northwest Indiana,” Hazen continued. “RSN has been a technical innovator too, among the very first to utilize Internet resources to feed game broadcasts back to the studio for airing. It's been fun to be a part of that, and I look forward to our pace-setting broadcasts this year!”
Ramirez, whose company has broadcast nearly 3,000 sporting events, likes what Hazen brings to table. "We've always been open to finding and creating ways to improve on what we're doing. With Bill back on the mic and his expertise at operating remotely without assistance from the studio, we'll be able utilize our resources in other ways," he said.
"An extra pair hands in the studio on Friday nights will mean better in-game production; more on-screen graphics and quicker scoring updates. It usually takes all the manpower available to pull off what we've done traditionally on game night, so this season with the added digital platforms and Bill's ability to manage his entire broadcast on location, this will allow our studio personnel focus on those other duties."
Hazen has worked extensively on sports assignments in Indiana over the past fifteen years. A former TV voice of the Chicago Bulls, he also called the Indiana Pacers in the late '80's. Minor league basketball brought him back to the state in 2000, and he began working with Region Sports in 2002. For the last seven years, Hazen has called the action for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. Last season several of his game broadcasts were carried by ESPN, including the NBADL Semifinals.
Hazen also runs his own broadcast production operation, which creates, produces and distributes syndicated radio programming. Bill Hazen Productions produces programs for Conference USA, which air over a large regional network. BHP's newest production is StadiumsUSA Radio, produced in conjunction with the popular stadiumsusa.com web site. The program is heard nationally each Saturday morning on Yahoo Sports Radio. BHP's other national offering, College Sports Weekly, airs through direct syndication. Approximately 175 radio stations carry programming produced by BHP.
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