For the second year in a row, Northeastern University’s student radio station, 104.9 WRBB, has been recognized by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America (STAA) as home to some of the best young broadcasting talent in the nation.

This year, WRBB sports director Alex Faust (a rising senior at Northeastern) was honored with the Jim Nantz Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate sportscaster. The award was presented May 15th at the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association banquet in Salisbury, N.C.

“You know within the first ten seconds Alex is an exceptional sports broadcaster,” said STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik. “His voice, enunciation, energy and pacing are outstanding and he has a good grasp of some of the more advanced play-by-play techniques.”

It is the first such award for the station, though Faust was recognized last year by STAA as one of the 10 best collegiate sportscasters of 2010.

“This is such an incredible honor not only for me, but for everyone here at WRBB,” Faust said after the event, “This validates years of hard work by our staff, as well as our alumni, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in sports broadcasting.”

In addition, Jared Shafran (also a rising senior at Northeastern) was given honorable mention in balloting for the award, marking the first time that two WRBB broadcasters were recognized by STAA in one year.
“It is great honor to be recognized and represent the station and university,” said Shafran, adding “[Alex] does so much more than call games. Without him and the work from every member of our staff behind the scenes, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Together, Faust, Shafran, and rising junior Ben Horner served as the lead announcing team for Northeastern University men’s hockey broadcasts this past season, and guided listeners through 37 of 38 games, including the Huskies’ dramatic victory at Boston University in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

“We have great chemistry,” Faust said about WRBB’s broadcasters, “The way we act on the air is the way we interact off the air – we’re all good friends and I think that really makes us comfortable working with one another. That really shines through in our broadcasts.”

The praise from the Northeastern community has been resounding.

Mark Majewski, assistant director of sports information at Northeastern, says Faust brings “senses of professionalism, dignity and hard work” to the table: “This award could not go to a more deserving candidate and I am excited to see where the future will lead him in the sport broadcasting business.”

Northeastern athletic director Peter Roby, on Faust’s accomplishments: “Northeastern Athletics is so excited to learn of Alex receiving such a prestigious award. He has worked extremely hard and has done a wonderful job of covering Husky sports over the years.”

The award continues a long tradition of talented announcers at WRBB Sports. For years, the station has provided Northeastern students with professional broadcasting experience as on-air announcers, studio hosts, and field reporters. Recent graduates include:

• Keith Lavon (’10), voice of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in the Central Hockey League
• Tom Giles (’09), sports director at KKCO, NBC affiliate in Grand Junction, Colorado
• Adam Jones (’08), former host at WBZ-FM (98.5 The Sports Hub) and current midday host at ESPN Boston
• Josh Heller (’07), voice of the AHL’s Albany Devils
• Dan Weiss (‘02), voice of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage
• Eric Lindquist (‘01), voice of the AHL’s Worcester Sharks

The list continues, notably including Don Orsillo (’91), current play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox.

The 2011-2012 broadcast season begins in September with the return of WRBB’s signature talk show, the Dog Pound Sports Sound, while Northeastern men’s hockey returns in October and Northeastern men’s basketball returns in November.

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WRBB is a non-commercial, non-profit, free-form station run by students at Northeastern University in Boston providing the surrounding areas with a musical diversity not available on any of Boston’s commercial stations. In addition to an eclectic mix of shows, all major Northeastern basketball, baseball, and hockey games are also broadcast live.

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