Bethany Lutheran College and Minnesota State University, Mankato will celebrate 15 years of a unique broadcast partnership on Saturday, March 12, 2016, with a special reunion/recognition event prior to the Minnesota State men’s hockey WCHA playoff game at Verizon Wireless Center, located in downtown Mankato.
It was 2001 when an up-and-coming collegiate broadcast program teamed with an up-and-coming NCAA Division I men’s hockey program to form a unique partnership that has produced positive results for both. The partnership grew out of a meeting between Bethany’s Vice President for Finance and Administration Daniel Mundahl and Charter Communications’ Director of Field Operations Craig Stensaas.
The Maverick Hockey broadcast partnership has been a catalyst for dozens of Bethany graduates to secure jobs with well-known broadcast organizations.
Greg Vandermause, Bethany’s Production Studio Manager commented, “We are excited to celebrate 15 years of a great broadcasting partnership between Bethany, Minnesota State and Charter Communications. Throughout the years our students have landed jobs and internships at major networks and organizations such as ESPN, Fox Sports North, WWE, Good Morning America, NBA teams and so much more. Our program at Bethany has grown significantly through this partnership and we look forward to many years to come.”
And like the solid outcomes that Bethany Lutheran College has seen for its broadcast programs, Minnesota State Athletics values the partnership as the broadcast has been promoted to a wide audience throughout the upper Midwest and beyond.
“As we approach the 15-year anniversary of our partnership with Bethany Lutheran College and Bethany Studios, I want to take an opportunity to acknowledge just how important that relationship is to our hockey program, said Kevin Buisman, Minnesota State Director of Athletics. “Much of the credit for the leadership on this initiative goes to Daniel Mundahl, BLC’s Vice-President of Finance and Administration. It was Daniel who first saw the experiential opportunity it could create for Bethany students and made the financial investments, then and now, to make this vision become a reality.”
“Over the years, the quality of the broadcast has continued to improve and through our collaboration with Charter Communications the footprint has increased to where we reach a substantial viewing audience across the state of Minnesota and throughout the upper Midwest via our standard and high-definition broadcast of each home hockey series. We connect with even more constituents by web-streaming the same content and both of these components offer an extremely important outreach platform for an NCAA Division I hockey program. In his role as Production Studio Manager, Greg Vandermause, has put us at the forefront from a technology standpoint and his expertise and passion always ensure a high quality broadcast and a great viewing experience for our fans. We truly appreciate this longstanding relationship with Bethany Lutheran College and are excited to celebrate this milestone with them.”
Throughout the 15-year partnership, Bethany students have produced over 200 live Minnesota State men’s hockey broadcasts, dozens of promotional videos for the Maverick hockey program, and have even partnered with ESPNU and Fox Sports on occasion.
Bethany Lutheran College alumni together with officials from Minnesota State and Charter Communications will celebrate the milestone with a private gathering in the newly renovated Maverick Hockey headquarters in Verizon Wireless Center and also attend the first round WCHA playoff contest. Returning for the event are Bethany Lutheran College alumni who currently work with broadcast giants such as ESPN, Good Morning America, Minnesota Twins, and nationally syndicated cable television shows.