It’s always cool to see prominent broadcasters give back to those who are just starting out, whether that’s through time or money. ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt did just that Thursday, and did so while he was on vacation golfing (following his stint hosting the network’s Masters coverage) to boot, answering a tweet about Maryland student-run radio station WMUC’s pledge drive to fund sports road coverage with a promise to pledge whatever they needed:
That time Scott Van Pelt casually funded the University of Maryland's student-run sports radio station pic.twitter.com/ko4qeZ7KuN
— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) April 13, 2017
Van Pelt is a prominent Maryland alum, and he’s reportedly been a big contributor to their sports radio coverage in the past as well:
Largely because of @notthefakeSVP, @WMUCSports has raised 23,500 over the last three years to continue away coverage of the #Terps https://t.co/QuzEG6E1RP
— Michael Stern (@_MichaelStern) April 13, 2017
Sending student broadcasters to away games is a laudable goal, and it’s notable that WMUC’s goals (you can check out their fundraiser page here) are not just about the biggest sports. Their target is $8,000; they’ve spent $4,000 on travel each of the last two years, but the goal is to up that to $5,000 annually so they can cover more away games for soccer, women’s basketball and lacrosse, and then start a sustainable yearly fundraising plan so they can keep doing this. Here’s a video explaining their goals:
This certainly looks like a laudable cause, and one that will hopefully provide valuable experience for future generations of broadcasters. It’s cool to see Van Pelt supporting this, even on his day off.
