By Seth MacDonald
The Fitchburg State athletic department is wasting no time in looking to improve its overall image, as the recently formed and student-led Fitchburg State Falcon Sports Network (FSN) marks a significant milestone for the department which looks to bring nothing but promise and opportunity in the years to come.
Daniel Beaulac, a senior Computer Science major at the university and employee of the athletic department, is the driving force behind FSN. Using his skills, he designed high quality scoreboards for each sport that are implemented into the live broadcasts on MASCAC.tv—which are now in high definition.
“Up until we made the changes—going to HD and adding the scoreboard—nothing had changed in the way we did things. It was basically the same old setup every year. But we’re making changes now; we’re pushing ourselves toward the future,” Beaulac explains.
“The whole conference (MASCAC) is buzzing about what we’re doing, and I’m proud of that because it brings great exposure to us. People are seeing how much work and dedication we’re putting into our broadcasts, and they’re impressed. We already have had people call in and say, ‘How are you doing that? That looks amazing.'”
Beaulac has been the primary play-by-play announcer for Fitchburg State athletic games since 2010, when he began as a volunteer. “I love it,” he says about his job. “It’s great practice and a wonderful dream to live out, even if you don’t get to use it in a professional sense.”
In addition to the improved quality on the broadcasts, FSN has a newfound partnership with LATV (Leominster Access Television) which compliments a strong relationship between Fitchburg State and FATV (Fitchburg Access Television). LATV will air Fitchburg State home games the following day on the Leominster Educational Channel (Verizon Ch. 32, Comcast Ch. 9) from 10:00am – 2:00pm as well as on their website.
“It’s a nice treat for the local people who want to catch up with their local sports,” says freshman Justin Kearns, one of the department’s newest employees.
One last feature FSN has implemented is a weekly talk show called The Falcon Call, which will air every Monday from 3:30-4:00pm on WXPL 91.3FM, Fitchburg State’s official radio station. In addition, the shows will be live streamed on MASCAC.tv.
The Falcon Call will recap games from the past week as well as look ahead to that week’s games. Coaches and student-athletes are encouraged to sit in as special guests each week to provide in-depth looks on what it means to be a Falcon.
TJ Garske, the department’s Sports Information Director, is pleased with the direction it’s headed along with FSN.
“We are excited to offer these opportunities to students who are interested in working in the sports field. In addition, the improvements we’ve made give our viewers a first-rate video stream as well as other ways of finding out more information about Fitchburg State athletics.”
Rick Terrio, Home Games Operations Manager and Women’s Lacrosse Coach, offered his take on the department’s recent developments as well.
“As a member of the athletic department, I’m really proud of all the time and effort that everyone has put in to making Fitchburg State athletics what it is now; there’s definitely a lot going on behind the scenes that haven’t been there in the past.”
An athletics employee myself, I couldn’t be more pleased with everything the department’s doing and continues to do. Contributing to a group of talented individuals who want to help improve the image and exposure of Fitchburg State athletics—and FSN—has been a very rewarding experience. We all share a deep interest in sports and aspire to work in the field professionally one day, and this makes for some top notch experience before that comes into fruition.