C of I Athletics and ESPN Boise Announce Radio Agreement
NAMPA, Idaho – Impact Radio Group and the College of Idaho have announced that ESPN Boise will serve as the flagship station of Coyote football and men's basketball games for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
All 11 Coyote Football games during the 2016 season and the entire men's basketball 2016-17 season will be broadcast live on both ESPN Boise stations – 96.5-FM and 730-AM – along with ESPNBoise.com and the ESPN Boise App.
"ESPN Boise is proud to present the Treasure Valley access to the College of Idaho and the Yotes' football and men's basketball programs," said ESPN Boise Program Director, Michael Christianson. "Impact Radio Group and ESPN Boise are excited about our partnership and look forward to being the home of College of Idaho athletics. Athletic Director
Marty Holly and the rest of the C of I administrators and coaches have done a tremendous job building a top athletic college atmosphere with successful programs and athletes. We at ESPN Boise believe a program such as the C of I deserves to be on the radio and this partnership will associate Yotes' Athletics with the leader in sports entertainment. We're looking forward to sharing the success of
Mike Moroski,
Scott Garson and C of I Athletics with the wide fan base and the YoteFam that exists outside and throughout the Treasure Valley."
Longtime C of I play-by-play man Mike Safford returns for his 16th-year as the Voice of Coyote Basketball and will assume the lead role for Coyote Football. Safford will also anchor a weekly coaches' show throughout the football and basketball season on ESPN Boise, along with the station's daily "Yote Report" – highlighting C of I athletics.
Current ESPN Boise producer, Joey Jenkins, a longtime broadcaster from North Idaho, will join Safford on football broadcasts, handling color commentary duties. Jenkins recently joined the ESPN Boise staff from ESPN Palouse and has been a great addition to their on-air and production team.
"We are excited to have ESPN Boise as our flagship station for Coyote football and basketball," said C of I Athletic Director
Marty Holly. "We are grateful for the work that Dave Tester and Claudia Weathermon did to lay the foundation of our football radio broadcasts – from our zero year through the great victory over Carroll to end last season. We believe that the ESPN brand and the multiple platforms that ESPN Boise and the Impact Radio Group affiliates have will help promote Coyote Athletics to levels never before achieved in this market."
Along with the game broadcasts, ESPN Boise will air weekly segments with head coaches
Mike Moroski and
Scott Garson, along with C of I student-athletes, on their two local shows – "The Press Box" with B.J. Rains and Jay Tust from 9-11 a.m. and "The Breakdown" with John Mallory and Coach Mike Christianson from 2-6 p.m.
Coyote athletics have had a long tradition on the local airwaves, as C of I basketball was carried on the radio each season from 1946-2009 and again last season, while football games have been broadcast locally since the program returned to the field in 2014.
The first football broadcast is slated for Sept. 3, when the Coyotes host Montana Western at Simplot Stadium at 1 p.m.