By TENA L. Cook, Marketing Coordinator, CSC
CHADRON, Neb. — Dave Collins, sports director for Eagle Media in Chadron and the play-by-play voice of the Eagles, guided attendees at the Graves Lecture Tuesday, Oct. 28, through how Chadron State College athletic contests come to life through his broadcasts.
Collins grew up in Westminster, Colorado, and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado. At Colorado, a play-by-play class he took with Denver sports announcer Larry Zimmer helped Collins visualize a realistic pathway to sports broadcasting.
“I realized it was not just a dream. I could actually do this,” he said. “I took additional courses and completed a six-month internship with KCNC TV in Denver.”
To practice, Collins would sit in the upper deck at Rockies’ games and record himself.
“I would sit there and broadcast a game like I was the voice of the Rockies to just practice and get reps and ultimately get tape,” he said.
The approach worked and he landed his first job in Sidney, Nebraska, in 2004. After a decade in Sidney, Collins joined Eagle Radio in Chadron. He is currently in his 11th season calling Eagles’ games and has broadcasted nearly 700 combined games for football, volleyball, softball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.
He describes the solo act of rural sports broadcasting as multi-faceted.
“My responsibilities on game day are kind of like all the pieces at work underneath a watch face. What people hear on the radio is that finished product on top of the watch. There’s nobody back at the station playing commercials and then sending it back to me. I’m my own board operator and sound engineer. I control every ounce of the broadcast right there on the site,” he said.
In addition to describing the action for the listeners, Collins said he likes to add context by painting the scenery and atmosphere of the game.
“I’m a sports reporter and a storyteller. Our fans look up to these athletes and watch what they do on the field. I like to see my job as creating a Division I or pro level broadcast,” he said. “My mission on game day is to provide an accurate, compelling, and entertaining broadcast with a deep context and stories for the listeners.”
Organization and preparation are vital leading up to a game, Collins noted.
“Most important, and probably the most involved piece, involves a lot of research. I’ve got to know names and jersey numbers,” he said. “Statistics is a huge piece of sports, so I compile and organize all kinds of different statistics to get ready to help tell the story of the game.”
For example, Collins enjoys being able to tell listeners how a certain player did last year against the same opponent.
“I go through all the main stats within the RMAC and see where we are compared to other schools. I like to find out where we rank nationally and relay that to the fans too,” he said. “I love to find out some fun anecdotes people might not know about with the teams. But my number one job is what’s happening, who’s doing it, and what’s the time and score.”
During his presentation, he described the equipment setup for games and the challenges of traveling with equipment to broadcast away games. In addition to an audio mixer, and a cell phone connecting him to the radio station, he uses an iPad as a live stat monitor.
As part of the game day, Collins manages half-time content and post-game interviews with coaches or players.
“It helps the fans get inside of their thought process. So, whenever we get a chance to do that, I really enjoy it,” he said.
Among the unusual experiences he shared was calling a football game CSC was playing in Illinois while he was watching a live stream of it in Miller Hall when his son Braylon, was due, and he could not travel. Adjusting to adverse conditions is something he has seen numerous times. The night the Beebe Stadium re-opened, a lightning storm caused a 90-minute delay for Collins and his color announcer Sam Parker.
“Building relationships and trust as an Eagle is such a huge part of my job and something so important to me. I consider myself a part of every team and this institution,” Collins said.