Don Wadewitz
Encyclopedia
Donald Richard Wadewitz II (born May 20, 1974) is an American
sportscaster
.
. He attended Dr. Beatrice O. Jones Elementary School, Mitchell Elementary and Middle School and Washington Park High School
. Wadewitz then attended Marquette University
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
from 1992 through 2000. He encountered financial issues after his sophomore year and worked part-time on a degree from 1995 until he graduated in 2000 with a degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication and a minor in criminology.
While at Marquette University
, Wadewitz hosted the Wisconsin Jukebox Radio Show on Marquette Radio from 1993 until 2002. The show focused on bands from the state of Wisconsin. Wadewitz was the first deejay at the station to have a website dedicated to his show. He also featured weekly band interviews and live sets in studio. In 2000, Wadewitz received the first ever Don and Kay McNeill Award for Creative Efforts in Student Broadcasting. Danny Pudi
, an actor on the television show Community
, received the first-ever Chris Farley Scholarship at the same ceremony.
," handling play-by-play duties for the professional indoor team in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2009 and 2010. He was named Director of Communications in January 2010. The team announced it wouldn't return for the 2011 season in January 2011.
Division 7 championship game played at Camp Randall Stadium
in Madison
, Wisconsin
, between Hilbert and Burlington Catholic Central. He added high school basketball duties in 2008.
in January 2003 as the team's Marketing Director. The team quickly realized his talents were more suited for media and public relations and he took over those duties the in 2004. He improved the team's website and set up a communications plan that included an electronic fan newsletter, a database of media contacts, and a better communication system for recruiting players, cheerleaders and volunteers. The Raiders also became one of the first sports teams to utilize social networking websites to promote the team. Minor League Football News named Wadewitz the Public Relations Director of the Year for the Central Region in 2004 , 2005 and 2006 for his cutting-edge efforts.
Gary Suhr, the longtime play-by-play person for the Raiders retired in 2002, opening the door for Wadewitz to begin broadcasting Racine Raiders games on AM 1400 WRJN in Racine, Wisconsin
. He handled the play-by-play part-time, when the main announcer couldn't attend games.
In 2005, Wadewitz recommended the team begin broadcasting games online, in addition to the broadcasts on WRJN. The Raiders signed a contract with Broadcast Monsters late in the season to test fan interest in Internet broadcasts. Fans responded to the new service well and the Raiders began broadcasting all of their games online in 2006.
Wadewitz convinced the team to go to a three-person radio broadcast in 2006, with him handling the sideline reporting, when he wasn't doing the play-by-play. Fans reacted very positively to the new setup and the Raiders are now the only team in the North American Football League (NAFL) to offer sideline reporting during their radio broadcasts. The three-man broadcast crew was named the Best Sports Broadcast Team in the Racine Journal Times Best of Racine County in 2007. Wadewitz has served as the sideline reporter, color commentator and play-by-play person for Raiders' broadcasts.
In 2008, Wadewitz helped the Racine Raiders become the first minor league football team ever to have a website dedicated solely to recruiting (http://playfortheraiders.com).
Wadewitz received the Public Relations and Media Relations Director of the Year award from the NAFL on December 14, 2009.
The station mostly played music by independent punk, ska and emo bands. Within the first four months, XROXX had shot into the Shoutcast Top 50 rankings and became the number one punk/ska Internet radio station. New Internet fees for webcasters became too much for the college students to handle and they pulled XROXX off the Internet in August 2002.
After the dust had settled from legal battles over Internet radio, the trio tried to bring XROXX back in 2004. They relaunched on February 14 again and had instant success. The team started out small with 50 connections to the stream and increased their bandwidth as it became regularly maxed out. In just a month, they had tripled their listenership. XROXX LLC released two compilation CDs during the second incarnation. The first, XROXX Rocks! Volume 1, featured all United States bands. The second, XROXX Rocks! Volume 2, featured bands from across the globe. Volume 1 had a print-run of 2,500 copies and Volume 2 had a run of 3,500 copies. Volume 1 is now out of circulation.
The website had volunteer writers from across the globe that would provide content. The website received hundreds of unique visitors each day.
Once again, fees became too much and the trio didn't want to charge fees to listen to XROXX so they shut down shop again in 2005.
The website instantly gained national and international media attention. CNN , ESPN , ABC World News Tonight, as well as hundreds of local television and radio stations ran stories on MLB Fan Strike. Articles also ran in several hundred newspapers worldwide.
MLB Fan Strike wasn't the only website calling for fans to boycott baseball. Several others had been started and all of the websites were calling for their own fan strike date. Wadewitz was able to get all of the major websites to agree to several dates for unified, nationwide fan strikes that all of the websites would promote together.
The owners and players were able to avoid a strike or lockout by signing a contract in the eleventh hour on August 31, 2002.
In 2009, the effort was mentioned on the Mental Floss
website in an article about nine fan sports protests that stood out. Writer Scott Allen, in placing the MLB Fan Strike effort at number six on his list, said, "The protest was perhaps the most organized in the history of baseball, thanks to the advent of the Internet, but the boycott didn’t exactly go as planned."
(WAMI) in 1994. In 2004, he joined the Board of Directors for the organization and became the Membership Director. His term expired in 2006.
He directed the WAMI 25th Annual Awards Show at the Potawatomi Northern Lights Theater in Milwaukee on April 25, 2005.
, starring Bernie Mac
, as a journalist in the scene where Mac's character announces he is coming out of retirement.
Wadewitz has also appeared on the ESPN show Outside the Lines
, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings , CNN and dozens of local radio and television stations.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
.
Education
Wadewitz was born in Racine, WisconsinRacine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
. He attended Dr. Beatrice O. Jones Elementary School, Mitchell Elementary and Middle School and Washington Park High School
Washington Park High School
Washington Park High School is a public, four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin with an enrollment of over 2,400 students. Its school colors are blue and orange...
. Wadewitz then attended Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
from 1992 through 2000. He encountered financial issues after his sophomore year and worked part-time on a degree from 1995 until he graduated in 2000 with a degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication and a minor in criminology.
While at Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
, Wadewitz hosted the Wisconsin Jukebox Radio Show on Marquette Radio from 1993 until 2002. The show focused on bands from the state of Wisconsin. Wadewitz was the first deejay at the station to have a website dedicated to his show. He also featured weekly band interviews and live sets in studio. In 2000, Wadewitz received the first ever Don and Kay McNeill Award for Creative Efforts in Student Broadcasting. Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi is an American actor, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early years:Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago and grew up speaking Polish...
, an actor on the television show Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
, received the first-ever Chris Farley Scholarship at the same ceremony.
Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)
Wadewitz became the public address announcer and music coordinator for MATC men's and women's basketball in December 2010.Wisconsin Wolfpack
Wadewitz was the "Voice of the Wisconsin WolfpackWisconsin Wolfpack
The Wisconsin Wolfpack was an American football franchise based in Wisconsin. The Wolfpack name and brand has been used for two teams: an indoor football team in the Continental Indoor Football League and a traditional football team in the Mid Continental Football League.The indoor and outdoor...
," handling play-by-play duties for the professional indoor team in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2009 and 2010. He was named Director of Communications in January 2010. The team announced it wouldn't return for the 2011 season in January 2011.
WRJN 1400 AM
Wadewitz began handling high school football broadcasts on WRJN 1400 AM in Racine, Wis., in 2006. In 2008, he handled the play-by-play duties for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic AssociationWisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the first high school athletic organization in the country...
Division 7 championship game played at Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats...
in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, between Hilbert and Burlington Catholic Central. He added high school basketball duties in 2008.
Racine Raiders
Wadewitz joined the Racine RaidersRacine Raiders
The Racine Raiders American football club is an Elite MCFL team based in Racine, Wisconsin. Founded in 1953, they are the oldest Minor League Football team in Wisconsin that is still in existence. After one season in the Mid-States Football League, the team announced a move to the Elite MCFL in 2011...
in January 2003 as the team's Marketing Director. The team quickly realized his talents were more suited for media and public relations and he took over those duties the in 2004. He improved the team's website and set up a communications plan that included an electronic fan newsletter, a database of media contacts, and a better communication system for recruiting players, cheerleaders and volunteers. The Raiders also became one of the first sports teams to utilize social networking websites to promote the team. Minor League Football News named Wadewitz the Public Relations Director of the Year for the Central Region in 2004 , 2005 and 2006 for his cutting-edge efforts.
Gary Suhr, the longtime play-by-play person for the Raiders retired in 2002, opening the door for Wadewitz to begin broadcasting Racine Raiders games on AM 1400 WRJN in Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
. He handled the play-by-play part-time, when the main announcer couldn't attend games.
In 2005, Wadewitz recommended the team begin broadcasting games online, in addition to the broadcasts on WRJN. The Raiders signed a contract with Broadcast Monsters late in the season to test fan interest in Internet broadcasts. Fans responded to the new service well and the Raiders began broadcasting all of their games online in 2006.
Wadewitz convinced the team to go to a three-person radio broadcast in 2006, with him handling the sideline reporting, when he wasn't doing the play-by-play. Fans reacted very positively to the new setup and the Raiders are now the only team in the North American Football League (NAFL) to offer sideline reporting during their radio broadcasts. The three-man broadcast crew was named the Best Sports Broadcast Team in the Racine Journal Times Best of Racine County in 2007. Wadewitz has served as the sideline reporter, color commentator and play-by-play person for Raiders' broadcasts.
In 2008, Wadewitz helped the Racine Raiders become the first minor league football team ever to have a website dedicated solely to recruiting (http://playfortheraiders.com).
Wadewitz received the Public Relations and Media Relations Director of the Year award from the NAFL on December 14, 2009.
North American Football League (NAFL)
Wadewitz was hired as the Media Relations Director for the North American Football League (NAFL) in February 2008. He served in the position throughout the 2008 season. The NAFL is the largest football league in the country, with over 120 member teams that compete in a national playoff tournament.XROXX LLC
While still in college, Wadewitz was approached by his friend Scott Hanson, and asked to be a partner in a business venture. The venture was an online music station and electronic magazine called XROXX. Wadewitz agreed and Hanson, Wadewitz and Paul Gaumond began XROXX LLC. XROXX officially launched on February 14, 2002.The station mostly played music by independent punk, ska and emo bands. Within the first four months, XROXX had shot into the Shoutcast Top 50 rankings and became the number one punk/ska Internet radio station. New Internet fees for webcasters became too much for the college students to handle and they pulled XROXX off the Internet in August 2002.
After the dust had settled from legal battles over Internet radio, the trio tried to bring XROXX back in 2004. They relaunched on February 14 again and had instant success. The team started out small with 50 connections to the stream and increased their bandwidth as it became regularly maxed out. In just a month, they had tripled their listenership. XROXX LLC released two compilation CDs during the second incarnation. The first, XROXX Rocks! Volume 1, featured all United States bands. The second, XROXX Rocks! Volume 2, featured bands from across the globe. Volume 1 had a print-run of 2,500 copies and Volume 2 had a run of 3,500 copies. Volume 1 is now out of circulation.
The website had volunteer writers from across the globe that would provide content. The website received hundreds of unique visitors each day.
Once again, fees became too much and the trio didn't want to charge fees to listen to XROXX so they shut down shop again in 2005.
MLB Fan Strike
On May 15, 2002, Wadewitz started a small protest website, MLB Fan Strike, after Bill Michaels, a sports talk show host on AM 620 WTMJ in Milwaukee, suggested someone should start a website protesting a potential strike by Major League Baseball players or a lockout by the owners. The website, mlbfanstrike.com, launched on May 19, 2002.The website instantly gained national and international media attention. CNN , ESPN , ABC World News Tonight, as well as hundreds of local television and radio stations ran stories on MLB Fan Strike. Articles also ran in several hundred newspapers worldwide.
MLB Fan Strike wasn't the only website calling for fans to boycott baseball. Several others had been started and all of the websites were calling for their own fan strike date. Wadewitz was able to get all of the major websites to agree to several dates for unified, nationwide fan strikes that all of the websites would promote together.
The owners and players were able to avoid a strike or lockout by signing a contract in the eleventh hour on August 31, 2002.
In 2009, the effort was mentioned on the Mental Floss
Mental floss
Mental Floss is a bi-monthly American magazine, launched in 2001 in Birmingham, Alabama, that presents facts and trivia in a humorous way...
website in an article about nine fan sports protests that stood out. Writer Scott Allen, in placing the MLB Fan Strike effort at number six on his list, said, "The protest was perhaps the most organized in the history of baseball, thanks to the advent of the Internet, but the boycott didn’t exactly go as planned."
Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI)
Wadewitz became a member of the Wisconsin Area Music IndustryWisconsin Area Music Industry
Wisconsin Area Music Industry is an American volunteer organization founded in 1980, and based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its stated purpose is "to educate and recognize the achievements and accomplishments of individuals in the Wisconsin music industry." The organization is best known for its...
(WAMI) in 1994. In 2004, he joined the Board of Directors for the organization and became the Membership Director. His term expired in 2006.
He directed the WAMI 25th Annual Awards Show at the Potawatomi Northern Lights Theater in Milwaukee on April 25, 2005.
Awards
- Public Relations and Media Relations Person of the Year - North American Football League (NAFL) - 2009
- Best Sports Broadcast Team - Racine Journal Times, Best of Racine County - 2007
- Minor League Football News (MLFN) National Public Relations Director of the Year - 2007
- Minor League Football News (MLFN) Website of the Year (racineraiders.com) - 2007
- Minor League Football News (MLFN) Public Relations Director of the Year, Central Region - 2004 , 2005 , 2006
- Racine Raiders Fred Vance Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award - 2006
- Marquette University Don and Kay McNeill Award for Creative Efforts in Student Broadcasting - 2000
Other Notable Appearances
Wadewitz appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures film Mr. 3000Mr. 3000
Mr. 3000 is a 2004 American sports comedy film starring Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. The film's plot surrounds a retired Major League Baseball player who makes a comeback at age 47 in order to attain 3,000 hits.-Plot:...
, starring Bernie Mac
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough , better known by his stage name, Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L...
, as a journalist in the scene where Mac's character announces he is coming out of retirement.
Wadewitz has also appeared on the ESPN show Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines, or also referred to as OTL, is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in American sports on and off the field of play....
, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings , CNN and dozens of local radio and television stations.
External links
- Official Don Wadewitz Website
- Article on WAMI 25th Anniversary Awards Show
- Article on WAMI 25th Anniversary Awards Show
- Archive of MLB Fan Strike website
- Baseball Fans Discontent Rising
- Cecilia Tan, Why I Love Baseball
- Fans Call Boycott Today
- Fan Strike CNN Transcript
- Will the Fans Strike Back?
- Sports Fans of America Encourages MLB Fan Strike
- Fan Groups Push a Boycott
- Oh, There's Been a Strike Date Set All Right
- Some Fans Want to Swing a Big Bat, Boycott