WESU might not be ESPN, but every Tuesday night, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Wesleyan campus has its own version of SportsCenter. “Cardinal Sports Weekly,” hosted by Wesleyan Athletic Director John Biddiscombe and baseball coach Mark Woodworth, features 60 minutes of sports scores, news and interviews all focused on Middletown’s beloved Cards.
“We felt WESU lost its sports focus,” Biddiscombe said. “There are no game broadcasts. We wanted to renew WESU’s commitment to sports and find a community connection. We wanted to celebrate Wesleyan athletics.”
Biddiscombe had the idea for the show, now through 11 broadcasts of its first season. Woodworth, meanwhile, had the experience as a radio DJ from his time as a Wesleyan student, making the duo, as Biddiscombe put it, “a perfect match.”
The team runs its show in three 20 minute segments. They begin with a chronicle of the Cardinal victories and defeats from the past weekend, as well as any updates on games currently being played. After a first musical interlude, the hosts and their guests get into athletic topics du jour, from sporting traditions to the planned topic for next week, a review of Chris Lincoln’s book “Playing the Game,” a look into Ivy League Athletic recruiting.
Tuesday’s discussion featured a conversation with guests about the differences between Division I and III athletics, as well as the training vacations many Cardinal teams take in January or over spring break. Finally, the two hosts take some time to interview their guests, be they players or coaches, inviting the radio audience to get to know the people behind the players.
Wrestling coaches Drew Black and Mary Bolich, the men and women’s swimming coach, appeared as Tuesday night’s guests on the show. Black starred in the show’s first segment, detailing the wrestling team’s performance at early season invitationals, as well as explaining to the hosts and listening audiences the non-traditional flow of a wrestling match. Black also detailed his own prolific high school and collegiate wrestling career, as well as his early coaching gigs before finding his way to Middletown seven years ago. Bolich, who took questions from Biddiscombe and Woodworth later in the show, discussed the early season record-breaking performances from her swimmers, as well as her experience as a Division I swimmer and head coach.
Both coaches were a bit nervous before their radio performances, but the hosts calmed their fears.
“We ask the right questions,” Biddiscombe said to coach Black during a music break, “The ones we know you know the answers to.”
The team recalls their first show earlier this year as the most memorable.
“Pulling off the first show tops the list,” Woodworth said.
Biddiscombe echoed those sentiments.
“We were worried we couldn’t fill an hour, but ended up with more to say than we had time for,” he said.
Because the show does not feature a call-in segment, it is impossible for the DJs to know just how many people are listening.
“The only way we know anyone is listening is by the number of suggestions we get from people the next day for topics on the show,” Biddiscombe said. “ Also, the more people you invite, the more listen in and know about the show.”
“Plus, we know both of our wives are dedicated listeners,” Woodworth said,
In fact, Mrs. Biddiscombe was a correspondent for the show Tuesday night as she reported the score live from the Wesleyan women’s basketball game. The women won big, and so did, Biddiscombe and Woodworth hope, their radio show. Their goal is to celebrate Cardinal sports, and for an hour every Tuesday night, they do just that.
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