CHICAGO – In a mirror-image athletic season like no other, Illinois high schools are preparing for football in the Spring. And when those football teams take the field Friday night (3/19/2021), Bill Hazen will be at the microphone to capture the excitement and unique moments of the state's most unusual football season ever.
Hazen will be teamed with Mason Schweizer of the Kankakee Daily Journal for Game Night, a Friday night broadcast institution in Chicago's South suburbs. The concept was developed by the StarRadio Group, and airs through two of its owned-and-operated stations in the Kankakee area. Those stations are WXNU-FM (X-Country, 106.5) and WYKT-FM (105.5, The Ticket). The production is under the supervision of StarRadio's Bill Jones, supported by Josh Carman and Tim Lamping.
The opening night game on Friday night will feature the Bradley-Bourbonais Boilermakers hosting Lincoln-Way Central. Air time is 7:00PM CDT. This is the first of six Friday night broadcasts during a truncated season, which will not feature any playoffs or championships.
“We'll be telling a very unusual story in this year's prep football season,” said Hazen. “I am very pleased and honored to be working with a superbly-dedicated team, which has been serving area sports fans for years. That makes my job an easy one, since there is already a solid foundation in place.”
Hazen called the IHSA Football Championships for SportsChannel during the mid-1980's, but had to release the assignment when he was named the TV play-by-play voice of the Indiana Pacers. Hazen also called the Chicago Bulls TV games, and was at the microphone when Michael Jordan made his professional debut. Hazen has called nearly 200 events for ESPN, with his play-by-play showcased on two ESPN documentaries (Michael Jordan, The Last Dance; and Pony Excess, part of the 30-for-30 series). His other play-by-play assignments have included Southwest Conference football and basketball, Marquette basketball, Missouri basketball, Houston Rockets basketball, Big 12 baseball, Northwestern basketball, DePaul basketball, Notre Dame basketball, NIU football and basketball, UIC basketball and volleyball, the MAC Football Game of the Week, the Mid-Con Basketball Game of the Week and the Chicagoland Prep Football and Basketball Game of the Week. He also produces and hosts the syndicated sports program, College Sports Weekly.
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