Business students at Johnson State College are getting a hands-on marketing experience on the 90.7 WJSC radio station in the sport branding and promotion class that will focus on the society of sports and the promotion of Johnson sports initiatives.

Badger Sports Talk, a radio show run by students at Johnson, originated last fall in a class taught by Timothy Egan, part-time faculty member of the Business and Economics department. It began as a semester-long project with talk shows happening once a week, extending into the spring 2017 semester when students continued the project and eventually ran Badger Sports Talk three times a week.

Throughout the semester, Egan says students will learn the concept of using the radio as a marketing tool. Disc jockey positions will be run by two students, Cameron Taylor and Vernon Slater, both members of the Johnson men’s basketball team, while four other students in the class will be in charge of coming up with content for the show. Each of those members also has a role in the radio station, including host, co-host, producer and promotions. All shows and content will be overseen by Egan and Jeff Angione, library services and circulation coordinator, three days a week.

According to Taylor, Badger Sports Talk will allow students to stay involved with school and the community, while gaining a real job-like experience to prepare them for their future careers. Taylor notes that being a part of this radio show will expand his knowledge and keep him involved in the sports world, to eventually become a sports agent one day.

“My goal is for everyone on and off of Johnson State College campus to listen to our show, even if it’s for a few minutes,” said Taylor. “It’s the thought that counts.”

The student-made radio team has also made it possible to broadcast a select group of men’s and women’s basketball games at Johnson this upcoming season, with hopes of more live sports programming at the station in the near future.

This will involve a host who stays at the station for pregame, halftime and post game commentary. While gaining airtime and experience, these students hope to bring the Johnson community together to bring excitement and awareness to the athletics offerings at Johnson State College.

“The goal is to create a conversation tool that allows the Johnson State College sports community to reach out to the rest of the campus and the neighboring towns,” said Egan.

Over the semester-long course, he plans to build experienced DJs, increase audience numbers, promote Johnson sports to the area and teach about radio promotion to students. The radio station will be used as a source of community outreach that will work to bring everyone together, while increasing visibility for Johnson State College sports.

Egan hopes to see Badger Sports Talk eventually grow to five days a week, which will be made possible through the students and the increase of interest in the sports management business program at Johnson.

Upcoming shows are scheduled to air Mondays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Fridays from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.