March 13, 2018
Rachel Librach
UCCS Radio brought one award home from the Intercollegiate Broadcast System awards on March 5.
Nate Jones, a junior communication major, was awarded the national Intercollegiate Broadcast System award for best sports talk program.
Junior communication major Nate Jones won Best Sports Talk Show for episode four of his weekly radio show, the Two Minute Drill. Jones submitted a clip where he discussed his NBA season previews and predictions.
The IBS award evaluates over 1,000 collegiate radio stations nationwide. Jones was presented with the award on March 3 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City.
“Winning this award means a lot to me. It validates what I have been doing for these last few years,” he said. “About four years ago, I gave up doing sports broadcasting. But winning an award like this validates what I have been doing and prepares me for the future.”
Originally from Victorville, Calif., Jones has been involved in radio broadcasting since high school. When Jones transferred to UCCS in 2016, he wanted to find some way to get involved on campus.
Jones says that his college talk show allows him to write his own material on a larger variety of local and national sports teams.
“I liked both experiences (in high school and college) a lot, but this one is more professional sports-oriented and allows me to give my views on that. Back home, it was more directional and limited to the high school teams that were playing. Here I have more choice and write my own content,” Jones said.
While he has looked into possibilities of being a professional sports commentator, Jones prefers broadcasting on the radio.
“You get to speak your mind and say what you’re thinking about. It relieves stress for me when I know that every Tuesday I get to go in and talk about something I love,” Jones said.
“I’m not built for play-by-play. I like the radio talk style I do on my show, long form, talking to other people, and opinion based.”
This semester, Jones began working with Philip Oke-Thomas, a sophomore political science major. Jones says that his audience likes addition of a co-host.
“We have gotten a lot of great feedback that we vibe together and made the flow of the show a lot cleaner. There’s a lot more back and forth with different views on the same topics; it’s not just my opinion anymore,” Jones said.
Jones’ sports talk program airs every Tuesday on the UCCS radio from 11 a.m. to noon.
For more information on UCCS Radio, visit radio.uccs.edu.