Stout Athletics is making its way into uncharted territory with its brand new podcast, “Blue Devils Unscripted.” The podcast aims to connect listeners with the athletes and the staff behind the athletics program at Stout in a fun and interesting way.
The two people leading the charge include Associate Director of Athletics and golf coach Andrew Delong, and play-by-play announcer and communications professor Pete Knutson. Delong uses his connections around the Athletics Department to recruit guests while taking on responsibilities like editing and researching while Knutson uses his 16 years in sports journalism to help interview athletes and coaches, guiding the questions to make the podcast productive.
Other than radio shows and a few other past attempts, Stout Athletics has never had a talk show quite like this one.“We honestly didn’t really know how it would go,” says Delong. The podcast idea came about when Delong, Knutson, and former Stout hockey alum Brandon Connett were at a hockey game chatting about sports when the famous words “let’s do a podcast” were said, and the rest is history.
“I think the people in this building (Johnson Fieldhouse) and both the athletes and the coaches have such cool stories. I think that people don’t get to know us and have no way to get to know us. I thought it was a cool way to spread who we are and how authentic we are and how much we care about Stout Athletics,” says Delong.
“The cool thing is that we don’t really have a complete vision, we’re willing to try some different things,” says Delong. Currently, the podcast has six episodes ranging from basketball, soccer, and golf, with more to come. The plan is to eventually get every sport a spotlight, but that’s not the end of the story according to Delong. “There’s so many things we can do with it,” says Delong as he muses about bringing in former alumni or even administration for some more athletic insights.
“Stout Athletics is a special place full of a lot of caring people who do a lot to make sure student athletes succeed and are set up for more success when they graduate,” says Knutson. Delong hopes the podcast will reach not just members of the Stout campus but also the Menomonie area. “I hope it grows to the Menomonie community,” Delong says, “and if it brings them in for a game, it’s fun, and it’s easy to do, so it’s worth it.”
Links To Listen!
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2p0Lf6LPugzaYOftiZ58jp?si=dde3e0322ee94099
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/blue-devils-unscripted/id1866957242
