Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami University RedHawks
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Aug. 26, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami Sports Network launched today what is believed to be the internet's first 24/7 radio station dedicated to one school and the coverage all of its sports, including live broadcasts of home events that wouldn't necessarily be on the air, coaches shows for all sports, as well as replays of classic games and features.
"The launching of MSN-i is groundbreaking," said Director of Broadcasting Steve Baker. "As the world of on-demand internet content evolves over the next 10 years and more people have broadband access to the internet and television and radio becomes more common-place, niche fans like those fans of Miami University will already have a place to follow the RedHawks.
A typical day on MSN-i will include several different feature segments, including:
RedHawk Roundups - News briefs throughout the day updating fans on all of the latest news in and around Miami athletics;
MSN-i Classics - Re-broadcasts of vintage games, including Miami football's 1998 upset of No. 12 North Carolina in Chapel Hill;
HawkTawk - Replays of Miami's weekly hour-long coaches show;
Game Broadcasts - Live and archived coverage of Miami soccer, volleyball, field hockey, baseball and softball home games, plus archived broadcasts of recent football, basketball and ice hockey games;
Coaches' Corner - Weekly coaches' shows with in-season head coaches;
Miami Memories - MSN staffers take a look back at the storied history of Miami University Athletics with in-depth interviews with former Miami greats such at Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian and Woody Hayes;
Student Athlete Spotlight - Interviews with Miami student-athletes that represent the RedHawks on the field and in the classroom.
Fans can find MSN-i on www.MURedHawks.com in the "Nest" section on the front page.
"Miami University is a place that pushes not only our students but also our staff to challenge their limits and intellectual capacity and find new ways to be innovative, " said Director of Athletics Brad Bates said, "and MSN-i is definitely innovative."
"The time and work Steve Baker has put into this project will make MSN-i the success I am confident it will be."
Project MSN-i started several months ago with a idea from Director of Broadcasting Steve Baker who, at the time, was looking for a home for Miami's ice hockey game broadcasts and coaches' show. As Baker, also the station Manger at Oxford's local alternative rock station, WOXY-FM, looked into a solution for this problem he was finding that he had almost everything he would need at his finger tips to set up an internet radio station much like what he had at WOXY. All he needed was a couple of computers and the time to digitize the broadcasts.
After purchasing two new computers over the summer, one to convert the broadcast to Real Audio files and another to stream the files live, Baker set off to convert a large portion of Miami's vast archive of broadcasts. After countless hours in his office listening to old tapes, CDs and mini-discs, MSN-i was ready to launch.
"This venture has been a labor of love," said Baker. "I have been affiliated with Miami University athletics for over 20 years and I believe MSN-i will not only rekindle the love people had when they were at Miami but it will also reconnect them with what is going on now with our current student-athletes."