From Press Box to Podcast: COSJ Students Bring NCAA Championship to Life
By Judith Kelliher
When the NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championships came to tournament-host Springfield College’s home court in April 2026, it wasn’t just the players from the competing teams who got in on all the action. Students in the Springfield College Communications/Sports Journalism major played key roles—from writing pre-game stories to broadcasting games to developing an all-encompassing tournament showcase in a three-part podcast, and more. Those experiential learning opportunities were as big a win for our COSJ students as the volleyball victories on the court.
Sophomores Noah Schuessler and Kaleb Knowles, both COSJ Class of 2028, were immersed in all things NCAA tournament coverage, starting from before the NCAA regional tournament and through the national championship game, all played at Blake Arena. They used their classroom experiences, previous Springfield College sports broadcasts, and writing for The Springfield Student newspaper to inform all of their responsibilities.
Kaleb called their NCAA tournament coverage “the real deal.”
“We came out on top and put a lot of good work forward. Being able to time-manage and figure things out under pressure was preparation for the future. Anytime you get to use your voice or writing techniques and skills, you’re putting something on paper or something in the air for your future,” he said.
Noah, a former player on the Springfield College volleyball team, wrote various stories, including game recaps and a special piece on why volleyball is so important in this community, how its origins relate to the College campus more than 100 years ago, and why it’s a booming sport. He also previewed the final tournament matchup when Springfield College played Carthage College (Springfield College won in three sets to take the national title!).
Kaleb and Noah collaborated on a number of written stories, taking turns leading the writing while the other helped fine-tune and provided editing if needed. As a solo author, Kaleb wrote numerous stories, including one focusing on the perspective of the seniors on the Springfield College team playing their final games.
As part of the coverage during the tournament, Noah served as a color commentator who brought experience and insight to the broadcast and analysis. And for the regional coverage, Kaleb worked behind the scenes on the video board where he would put up videos that would play on the projectors and help run stats down to all of the commentators, including Noah.
Creating the three-part podcast was an impressive endeavor for the duo as they shared the responsibilities of developing the content over the course of the tournament, with each episode focusing on a different theme. Episode 1 was a preview of the Final Four games. Episode 2 included a recap of the Final Four, a summary of a banquet for the Final Four teams, a preview of the national championship game, and an interview with COSJ student Dante Iafrate, who broadcast one of the Final Four games. And Episode 3 wrapped up the overall tournament, featuring exciting soundbites from the environment inside Blake Arena, and a sit-down interview with Carter Durivage, a senior on the Springfield College team, and more.
“The overall experience was phenomenal. I had the opportunity to go to multiple big schools. But I chose Springfield College for a reason,” Kaleb said. “That’s because, as sophomores, Noah and I were in charge of putting together the only podcast that you could get in terms of NCAA Final Four coverage for Division III. You’re not going to get that anywhere else.”
One of the best parts of the NCAA tournament experiential learning opportunities, according to Noah and Kaleb, was the strong support system from COSJ faculty, Department of Athletics members, and students in the major.
“At the end of day, everybody wants whatever bigger project we are all working on to succeed. So when you have a strong support system, as we did, constantly communicating and collaborating with each other and other students, it helps create an even stronger foundation than we started with,” Noah said.
Kaleb has advice for any prospective students interested in the COSJ program.
“It’s the people who want it the most who are willing to work the hardest and put themselves out there. Come in with that passion, that fire, come in wanting to succeed, and honestly want to be the best. Believe in the work you are doing to get there,” he said.
From the perspective of Marty Dobrow, professor of Communications, the experiential learning at the NCAA volleyball championships proved an incredibly valuable experience for his students.
“We wanted to meet championship-level volleyball with championship-level journalism, and my students worked exceptionally hard to meet that challenge,” he said. “I hope that future students can see that we truly emphasize hands-on, real-world experience. That is fundamental to the learning process. Covering the volleyball Final Four was a complete immersion in multimedia journalism. It was also a heck of a lot of fun.”
