Communication Undergraduates Embrace Experiential Learning With Podcast, Radio Station

Communication Undergraduates Embrace Experiential Learning With Podcast, Radio Station

Spencer Gallup, Logan McCrory and Allen Woodson III uploaded their first podcast episode in March 2022, a breezy back-and-forth about the artists at the top of their playlists and the disappointing seasons of the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

More than two years later The University of Toledo students studying communication, along with a slew of classmates and new collaborators, just published their 100th episode of the Ball N Beatz Podcast. It's become a valuable training ground for the aspiring communication professionals, who have poured themselves into growing and developing it in tandem with sports programming on student radio station 88.3 FM WXUT Toledo.

These efforts recently paid off in press credentials to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where scouts were keeping an eye on former Rocket Quinyon Mitchell, among other top prospects for the NFL Draft beginning Thursday, April 25. McCrory, Woodson and Christian Dimo, another communication student, were excited to record interviews with athletes and rub elbows with sports media professionals inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

"It was massive for us," said McCrory, a junior. "More than anything this year it was a learning experience. We know that we want to be there a little bit longer next year, even just to better take advantage of the number of people you could meet and connections that you could make there."

"It was a great opportunity," said Woodson, a senior, echoing McCrory. "I was able to do some networking while I was there."

The Ball N Beatz Podcast reflects shared interests in sports and music among Gallup, McCrory and Woodson, as well as the encouragement and ongoing support of Tisha Mays, an assistant lecturer in the Department of Communication. The podcasters use a department studio to record each episode, and recently expanded their recording sessions to encompass video that they share on YouTube.

They've come a long way from the casual conversations of their earliest episodes.

While banter between friends is still central to what they do, they've expanded their scope of topics as they've expanded their number of collaborators. They've brought in Rocket athletes Javan Simmons and Quinesha Lockett, among other special guests. And as with their most recent expansion to YouTube, they've explored ways to build their audience on Instagram and TikTok.

"The podcast came to fruition because of their talent, passion, consistency and dedication," Mays said. "I've enjoyed watching them grow and I am so proud of them."

The Ball N Beatz crew also credits Mays with encouraging them to get involved at WXUT, a step they took the semester after they launched the podcast. They've found a parallel niche at the station in sports broadcasting, honing their skills at play-by-play and color commentary during football and basketball games and building relationships with athletes, coaches and administrators. Shortly after the NFL Combine, they took their recording equipment on the road again to cover the men's and women's basketball run in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland.

McCrory is station manager this semester at WXUT. Gallup is program director. Woodson is sports director and Dimo is promotions director.

Mays praised the station as another experiential learning opportunity for students interested in broadcasting, and the students shared a similar appreciation for what they anticipate will be a valuable entry on their resumes. While they've learned how to record and edit audio through their coursework, there's nothing like hands-on experience.

"I've certainly learned a lot, especially on the social media side of things," said Dimo, who also has taken the lead on promotional efforts for the podcast. "I've learned a lot about algorithms, when you should post, what audiences gravitate toward, things like that."

McCrory said he's learned a lot through the station and the podcast, too.

"But I feel like we've still got a lot more to learn," he added. "I think we're really just scratching the surface of what we can do."