Five undergraduate students from St. Bonaventure University’s campus radio station have joined media professionals from around the world in Los Angeles this week in advance of the sports event of the year – Super Bowl LVI.

The five students representing WSBU 88.3 FM The Buzz will be broadcasting from Radio Row, featuring game previews as well as interviews with active and former players and other media personnel.

Only a handful of college radio stations are granted access during Super Bowl Week amid the dozens of national and international news outlets. This is the fourth time since 2018 WSBU has sent a team to Radio Row. (Access wasn’t allowed in 2021 because of COVID protocols.)

The students say there’s no better setting to hone their skills and expand their professional network.

Tyler Smith, a junior sports media major from Goshen, New York, is one of two sports directors at WSBU and has always dreamed of working in the sports world.

“Working with the station has helped me develop my on-air announcing skills and allowed me to build a network of contacts for interviews, advice and guidance,” Smith said. “I aspire to one day host a radio show on a major network, and this has been a huge building block for that goal.”

Senior Nic Rohloff is a sports media major from Hilton, New York, and was sports director at The Buzz for two years.

“The experience has been outstanding, and has prepared me for real-world work experiences. Taking part in the fast-paced environment at the Super Bowl replicates the field I am going to work in,” Rohloff said.

As he completes his final year at SBU, Rohloff has handed off his sports director’s role to sports media major Nate Solomon.

Solomon sees covering Super Bowl Week as an important step for him to reach his career goals as a sports writer or broadcaster.

“This trip will help me build connections, improve my networking skills and make me a better broadcaster,” said Solomon, a sophomore from Dryden, New York. “We couldn’t be more grateful of the university allowing us to go on this trip.”

As the production director at the Buzz, junior Carter Raymond oversees all commercials, underwriting, and general quality control of the shows, and manages the podcast department.

He has been a member of the station’s sports department for the past three years and played an integral part in producing the February 2020 Super Bowl coverage from campus for his Buzz colleagues, who were in Miami for Super Bowl LIV.

This year, he said, “We will have a rotating crew of staff members who will be running the show from the Buzz studio. They are making it possible for us to send our content back here and we couldn’t broadcast without them.”

Raymond is from Richmond, Virginia, and pursuing a major in finance and minor in accounting. He is grateful “for the huge opportunity to get comfortable conducting interviews and operating in a fast-paced situation with a high level of professionalism.”

Joining the Buzz has helped junior Tom Seipp develop his skills as a communicator and as a leader.

“In the field of journalism, experience is everything. I’ve gained experience with The Buzz that is only going to help me grow as an individual and journalist,” said Seipp, a sports media major from Lagrangeville, New York. He has been the station manager since his sophomore year.

Those who want to follow the Buzz’s Super Bowl coverage can listen live at 88.3 FM or the WSBU website, www.wsbufm.com, in the “Listen Live” tab. The team will be live from 6 to 9 p.m. (EST) today (Monday, Feb. 7), Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesday they’ll be live from 3 to 6 p.m. because of the basketball game that night.

Clips from their shows and interviews will be featured on the WSBU Twitter (@wsbu) and Instagram (@wsbu.thebuzz) accounts.

Predictions: Bengals or Rams?

Carter: (I’m) leaning Rams. A lot of their core players, like Matt Stafford, are older and don’t have many chances left to win a Super Bowl.

Rohloff: I believe the Bengals will win. Joe Burrow’s confidence and swagger leads this Bengals team. They might be the lesser team on paper, but you can’t underestimate the big-game ability of Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.

Seipp: Rams! I predicted on Jan. 30, 2021, (on Twitter) that the Los Angeles Rams would win this Super Bowl, I’m sticking with it.

Smith: I have a weird feeling the Bengals will find a way to win the Super Bowl. They feel like a team of destiny and Joe Burrow carries a swagger and leadership quality about him that results in championships.

Solomon: I’ll definitely be pulling for the Rams. They were my preseason pick to win it all, so I have to stay true to my prediction.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.