http://miac-online.org/news/2011/12/2/GEN_1202113956.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It’s common to see coverage of professional sports and Division I athletics on television, but Division III athletics are usually left out of the spotlight.

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is the rare Division III exception to this norm with its weekly television exposure in the Twin Cities and beyond thanks to Game ON!, a weekly sports show focused on the Minnesota sports landscape. The show includes a segment where host/producer Rod Simons sits down for an interview with a MIAC coach, student-athlete or administrator from the conference.

Game ON!, currently in its second season, has been a labor of love for creator, producer and host, Rod Simons. Simons, a former sports anchor for KSTP-TV (ABC), an eight time Emmy winning TV journalist and Minnesota sports fan, noticed a change in the way sports coverage was being reported.

“I was watching shows and there was a change in what they were doing, they were no longer having engaging conversations or highlighting meaningful relationships,” Simons said.

And the idea for Game ON! was born.

Simons was discussing his idea for the show at a local charity golf event when Minneapolis-based attorney Wright Walling of Walling, Berg & Debele called attention to the lack of coverage that Division III athletics is given and suggested that Simons try incorporate the MIAC into his show.

“Wright suggested that I should find a way to include the MIAC on the show. The second the idea was proposed the title ‘The MIAC Minute’ popped into my head,” Simons added. “The spot on the show is more than a minute but the title is certainly catchy.”

The timing of the idea could not have been better as Walling, who has spent his entire legal career helping families and children, and his business were looking for an opportunity to give back.

“My law firm was looking for some ways to continue to support families and do a bit of advertising. I contacted [St. Olaf Women’s Soccer Coach] Jeremy Driver, who got me in touch with the people at MIAC and I brought them together with Rod and the rest is history”, Walling said. “My firm agreed to sponsor the spot with the only caveat being that I wanted Rod to really focus on [all] sports.”

Simons and Walling agree that the institutions and student-athletes that make up the MIAC are extraordinary.

“The student-athletes that make up the MIAC teams are very special because they are not on athletic scholarships or facing some of the issues of the other divisions,” Simons said. “They are there for the purpose of getting an education.”

“Here is the reality,” Walling said. “The MIAC is an amazing group of fantastic schools. Each has developed a reputation of quality and experience on its own and as a group I think are virtually unparalleled for any other geographic area in the county. The addition of the quality of the small-college athletic opportunities, along with the strong academics provided by these schools provides, in my view, the perfect, well rounded college experience.”

Walling became passionate about Division III athletics through his observations of his son-in-law, Jeremy Driver, and his career as a student-athlete and collegiate soccer coach.

“The benefits to the students became more and more clear. The dedication of the student-athletes stands out so clearly that I was completely impressed with the entire experience that it provides,” Walling said. “It is actually amazing to me how much incredible athletic competition goes on under our noses with little recognition and yet wonderful results. It is incredible.

“Many of these athletes could compete on D-I teams but have chosen to look at a broader view of their education while still getting a strong, competitive athletic experience.”

The student-athletes, coaches, fans and administrators in the MIAC are grateful to Simons and Walling for the vision and generosity that has allowed the MIAC coaches and student-athletes to tell their stories.

“The ‘MIAC Minute’ on Game ON! provides great exposure for our conference throughout the Twin Cities,” said Dan McKane, executive director of the MIAC. “We’re so thankful for the opportunity to highlight our great student-athletes and coaches and their remarkable stories and accomplishments through a medium that usually doesn’t exist at the Division III level. It’s almost surreal to showcase our conference right alongside Minnesota’s professional sports teams every week. In addition to being a great resource and promotional tool, it’s also a big thrill for our coaches and student-athletes.

“The MIAC is eternally grateful to Wright Walling and Rod Simons, and proud to call them friends of the conference. We really appreciate their consideration and involvement when Game ON! was still in its planning stages, and consider ourselves very lucky to be a part of the show.”

College of Saint Benedict Women’s Basketball Coach and Media Relations Director, Mike Durbin always encourages his staff to take advantage of the opportunity to be on the show.

“There are so many good stories to tell about our teams, student-athletes and Division III in general, we should be making ourselves available for this type of exposure any time it’s offered,” Durbin said. “Of course, we are thankful for the time Game ON! gives our programs.”

Durbin has also had the opportunity to be a guest on the “MIAC Minute” portion of Game ON! “I enjoyed my experience a great deal,” Durbin added. “It’s not often I have had the opportunity to share the excitement I have for my team and my players in a television interview.”

The MIAC student-athletes, coaches, fans and administrators aren’t the only ones who enjoy the show. Simons, who has had Minnesota sports figures like Joe Mauer, Christian Ponder and Visanthe Shiancoe appear as guests on the show, values the MIAC segment of the show.

“I truly enjoy those segments of the show more than anything,” Simons said. “They all have such unique stories, and I really enjoy the conversations both on and off the camera. Mixing MIAC guests with professional sports guests is what makes the show special,” Simons added.

The shows in which all guests interact and build camaraderie are some of Simons’ favorites. He had one such taping last week with Minnesota Viking Visanthe Shaincoe, bizarre food chef Andrew Zimmern and College of Saint Benedict Hockey Coach Jennifer Kranz.

“We ate sushi and we had a great time, everybody mingled and it was great. Those shows don’t come along very often,” Simons said.

Another such show featured Minnesota Vikings President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman and the winningest coach in college football history, John Gagliardi of Saint John’s University on Super Bowl weekend.

“The two were fully engaged and they couldn’t stop talking to each other,” Simmons said of Speilman and Gagliardi. “It is rewarding to see those types of relationships develop as a result of the show.”

“I like the show very much,” Walling added. “The diversity and orientation it brings seems to be unique, at least in this area. Rod has guests and stories beyond the usual sports stories.

“I am hopeful that the ‘MIAC Minute’ has provided some exposure and positive comments and observations to the schools and the conference itself. In my view it is about time.”

The exposure the show offers the MIAC is phenomenal. Game ON!, which airs every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on MY29 in the Twin Cities has an audience ranging from 60,000 to 150,000 each week with an additional 25,000 to 30,000 viewings of archived episodes on the show’s Web site each week.

Fans are also invited to attend the weekly tapings, which are Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Seven Steakhouse/Sushi/Ultralounge & Skybar on the corner of Hennepin and 7th in downtown Minneapolis.

“It’s an honor to have the MIAC as a part of the show,” Simons added. “It really is special and we have a good time doing what we are doing. I have a greater appreciation of the word diploma when I know they have paid their way through college and were a student-athlete on top of it. It is a great accomplishment to do both.

“The MIAC is a great league and I can’t think of any better way to put them in the spotlight and show them love.”

MIAC Feature Archive

Courtesy of MIAC