Tiger Pregame Show adds new co-host

by CU Athletic Communications - Mon Aug 09 10:46:10 GMT-04:00 2010

Tiger Pregame Show Set To Broadcast 90th Consecutive Game On Location With New Co-Host

The Tiger Pregame Show, a broadcast staple game days on WCCP 104.9 FM, is set to broadcast it’s 90th consecutive show live on location where the Clemson Tigers play on Sept 4th.

The show, started in 2003, will mark this 90th consecutive broadcast with a new co-host, Will Vandervort.

Vandervort will team up with Scott Rhymer, TigerNet.com Correspondent and host since 2003, to continue a tradition that has become a part of the game day experience for many Clemson fans.

“It is really amazing to run into Clemson fans all throughout the year that identify WCCP and the Pregame Show as something they make a part of their game day,” Rhymer said. “When I started doing this in 2003, I had no idea that we would be talking about continuing a show 90 broadcasts and eight years later. Radio is so fickle that it would be hard to imagine that people would still be interested in what we do.”

Vandervort is a multiple award-winning sportswriter who has covered Clemson athletics on a daily basis since 2004. He spent five years as sports editor and Clemson beat writer for The Daily Journal/ Daily Messenger newspapers of Seneca and Clemson and as the senior writer at CUTigers.com. In 2009, Vandervort left CUTigers.com to become the Editor of IPTAY Media, where he helps run IPTAY’s official publications MyOrangeUpdate.com and Orange The Experience the magazine.

“I’m excited about this opportunity and I’m excited about working alongside Scott, whom I have a lot of respect for,” Vandervort said. “It has always been an enjoyable show to listen to and has been well produced. I look forward to continuing that, while also adding my own little niche.”

Vandervort has also been in the broadcast business on and off over the years. He has done everything from hosting and producing a high school coach’s television show to color analyst on football, basketball and baseball games on the radio as well as co-hosting radio sports talk shows to football pre-game shows. Vandervort has spent the last two years as a guest-host on Don Munson’s Fast Lane and The Score Radio Show on WCCP 104.9 in the Upstate.

The Tiger Pregame Show mixes game day analysis with player and coach interviews to give Clemson fans an inside look at what to expect during the game. Analyzing the game from an insider’s perspective is what made Will Vandervort the top choice to move into the co-host role vacated by Roy Philpott, who is moving to the Tiger Tailgate Show on the Clemson Network.

“Will is connected to Clemson football and the coaches in a unique way,” Rhymer said. “With his role as Editor of IPTAY Media, Will is at every practice for the entire practice, unlike the rest of the traditional media who have to leave practices after getting initial footage and story ideas. Will travels with the team to the game, stays in their hotel. It’s hard to get any closer to the program than what Will Vandervort brings to the table.”

Continuing the excellent analysis and interviews is one part of the history of the Tiger Pregame Show, the other is broadcasting live on location where the Tigers play. The show will continue to broadcast on the Lawn at Littlejohn during home games. And the Tiger Pregame Show will also hit the road to broadcast at all of the away games, a tradition that started with the show’s inception back in 2003.

“We have broadcast the show in every ACC stadium, minus North Carolina,” Rhymer said. “Clemson hasn’t played in Chapel Hill since 2002, so we still have that venue to add to our list. Once we broadcast in Chapel Hill, we will have every ACC stadium on the list, including the original Orange Bowl as well as Land Shark Stadium for Miami.”

Clemson plays North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Oct. 9.

The Tiger Pregame Show has also traveled the country to broadcast the show while traveling with the Tigers. Non-conference trips include Columbia (South Carolina), Charlotte (Temple), Atlanta (Chic-Fil-A Bowls and Kickoffs with Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama), Nashville (Music City Bowl with Kentucky), Jacksonville (Gator Bowl with Nebraska), Orlando (Champs Sports Bowl with Colorado), Tampa (ACC Championship game with Georgia Tech), and College Station (Texas A&M).