Kansas Association of Broadcasters

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Registration in Tower Club East

11:30 a.m. – Noon – Welcoming Remarks in Tower Club East

Noon – 12:15 p.m. – Hod Humiston Award Presentation in Tower Club East

12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Student Broadcast Awards presentations in Tower Club East

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Breakout Sessions Round 1

• “Before You Go Live” with Dan Israel (Kansas City Chiefs), Mitch Holthus (Kansas City Chiefs) in Tower Club East
• “BroadcastHERS: Shaping the Narrative, Inspiring the Future” with Jillian Carroll (KCTV), Micaela Dea (KAKE TV), McKenzie Nelson (KSHB) in Pressbox
•  Roundtables for Idea Sharing in Penthouse

3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. – Breakout Sessions Round Two

• “Painting a Word Picture on the Radio in the Video Age” with Nate Bukaty (Sporting KC), Wyatt Thompson (Kansas State University) in Tower Club East
• “Beyond the Game: Unleashing the Power of Sports Features in Broadcast Storytelling” with Marleah Campbell (KCTV), Katie Maher (WIBW TV), Tim Twyman (KMBC TV) in Foolish Lounge
• “The Business of NIL” with Max Utsler (University of Kansas) in Pressbox

4:45 p.m. – Closing Remarks in Tower Club East

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Tour Arrowhead Stadium, Guests Vacate

6:00 p.m. – 6:40 p.m. – Change clothes, Dinner on your own at the Royals stadium

6:40 p.m. – Royals vs. Blue Jays

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Registration in Tower Club East

11:30 a.m. – Noon – Welcoming Remarks in Tower Club East

Noon – 12:15 p.m. – Hod Humiston Award Presentation in Tower Club East

All Professionals Sessions are in the Penthouse

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Professionals Luncheon and Q&A with Mike Rodgers, KC Royals Coordinator – Partnership Marketing

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – “The Business of NIL” with Max Utsler (University of Kansas)

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Roundtables for Idea Sharing

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – “Chiefs Broadcasters Update” with Dan Israel (Kansas City Chiefs), Mitch Holthus (Kansas City Chiefs)

4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Networking Happy Hour

4:45 p.m. – Closing Remarks in Tower Club East

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Tour Arrowhead Stadium, Guests Vacate

6:00 p.m. – 6:40 p.m. – Change clothes, Dinner on your own at the Royals stadium

6:40 p.m. – Royals vs. Blue Jays

Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience with the Chiefs broadcasters in our session, ‘Before You Go Live.’ The seasoned voices behind the sports action will pull back the curtain, offering a firsthand look at the meticulous preparation that goes into a live sports broadcast. From pre-game rituals to strategic research, our speakers will outline their comprehensive process, sharing the secrets of crafting a compelling narrative in the fast-paced world of professional sports commentary. This session promises to unveil the strategies, anecdotes, and expert insights that set the stage for the excitement and energy of game day.

Mitch Holthus

Mitch Holthus is in his 29th season as the play-by-play Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs.

A native of Smith Center, Kansas, Mitch has continued the work ethic he learned growing up on the farm in his career as a play-by-play sportscaster, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Listeners throughout the Chiefs Kingdom join in with Holthus when he makes his signature call “Touchdown Kan – zzzz City”. Mitch also hosts the Hy-Vee “Chiefs Insider” television show and various Chiefs website programming and emcees many Chiefs functions throughout the year.

As an entrepreneur, Mitch writes, produces, and sells the “Minute With Mitch” radio and television shows that air in-season throughout the Chiefs Kingdom. During basketball season, Mitch can be seen and heard doing play-by-play talent for Fox Sports and ESPN. Mitch has called Big 12, Big 10, SEC and Missouri Valley Conference games, as well as post-season NIT games.

Mitch is well-respected as a motivational speaker. His inspirational messages are always tailored to fit the personality and needs of the group he is addressing.

Dan Israel

Dan is the Executive Producer of the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network and serves as co-host of the official Chiefs Pre-Game show heard each week during the NFL season on more than 100 stations in 15 states.

Dan began his career of service to the public and to the industry with Kansas City’s KCMO-AM in 1982. In 1990, he began his long tenure with the Chiefs Radio Network. Dan Israel’s influence, creativity and leadership over the past four decades has helped Kansas broadcasters at both the local and network level. He has truly been a pioneer in production, engineering and progressive on-air sound. Dan’s impact has led to the Chiefs Radio Network being one of the most innovative and highest rated game-day broadcasts in the National Football League. However, Dan’s sphere of influence has also had a national and international impact. In addition to Chiefs Radio, Israel’s work has been featured during the Olympic games plus HBO, Showtime, ESPN, NBC, CBS and Fox Sports.

Explore the dynamic world of broadcasting through a diverse lens. While we delve into the unique experiences of women in sports broadcasting, our esteemed speakers will transcend gender boundaries to deliver valuable career insights applicable to all. From navigating the industry’s challenges to excelling in on-air performance, our speakers bring a wealth of knowledge that goes beyond gender-specific narratives. Discover the keys to success in broadcasting, gain practical career advice, and learn how to thrive in a competitive field.

Jillian Carroll

Jillian Carroll is an Award-winning American journalist presently working at KCTV5 in Kansas City and as Color Analyst for KC Current, the KC women’s soccer team playing in the NWSL. From 2019-2023, Carroll served as Host and Producer for KSN’s first ever Lifestyle Show, Good Day Kansas. Previously, Carroll  worked for the Kansas City Chiefs as their digital host and sideline reporter where she earned her first Emmy Award. Jillian has appeared on NFL Network, CBS, and Fox Sports Midwest covering the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) and Sporting Kansas City (MLS) as both Sideline Reporter and Broadcast Host.

She began her radio career at 610am Sports Radio in May 2017 hosting Jillian Carroll and Uno Cero and Overtime with Jillian and Chris. Jillian spent two years on the CBS affiliate KCTV 5 working on their lifestyle show, Better KC.

Jillian was a Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleader for six seasons where she proudly represented the Chiefs and the NFL locally, nationally and internationally. She is a proud Ambassador of the Chiefs organization and NFL. Jillian was the first ever Emcee for the Wichita Wind Surge during the inaugural season at Riverfront Stadium as the AA Ball team for the Minnesota Twins.

Micaela Dea

Micaela Dea is a sports anchor/reporter for KAKE in Wichita, KS. She covers everything sports related, from high school sports to Wichita State, to K-State and KU, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. She’s covered the Chiefs since the 2019-20 season when they won their first Super Bowl title in 50 years. Most recently, she covered the team’s run to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Micaela comes to KAKE from Missouri, where she worked as a sports reporter and anchor for News-Press Now in St. Joseph for three years. On top of covering the Chiefs and high school sports, she also covered Northwest Missouri State basketball for three seasons and two of their national championships.

Before working in St. Joseph, Micaela graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She earned her Bachelor of Journalism in Sports Broadcasting by working at KOMU in Columbia, Missouri for all four years. Micaela knew she wanted to work in sports from an early age and it hasn’t changed since. Growing up with a love for writing, she joined her high school newspaper. Then in her senior year, she became the sports editor as well as the first female sports anchor for her high school’s weekly TV broadcast.

McKenzie Nelson

McKenzie Nelson is a Sports Anchor and Reporter for NBC-affiliated KSHB-TV in Kansas City, MO. She has been working at the station for almost 7 years, joining the team in May of 2017. Previously, McKenzie was a Morning Live Reporter and Fill-In Anchor at KSHL/KNVN-TV in Chico, CA and a weekend anchor and reporter at KEVN-TV Black Hills in Rapid City, SD. She is an alumna of Southeast Missouri State University where she completed her bachelor’s in mass communications. McKenzie was born and raised in Kansas City and loves being back in her hometown reporting on the teams she grew up rooting for.

 

 

In this session, students will learn about the intricate process of building captivating video feature stories. Explore a variety of planning options that seamlessly blend A-roll interviews, B-roll footage, voiceovers, candid moments, and more to produce dynamic and engaging content. Our seasoned presenters will share valuable insights and showcase examples, providing practical strategies to create impactful stories. You’ll leave with the tools and inspiration needed to elevate your storytelling in the dynamic world of sports broadcasting.”

Marleah Campbell

A Lenexa native who grew up watching channel 5, Marleah Campbell has been with KCTV5 since the summer of 2022. She joins the sports team from WIBW, the CBS affiliate in Topeka, where she served as sports director. Prior to that, Marleah played Division I basketball at the University of Wyoming.

A four-time Academic All-Mountain West team member, her passion for equity in sports led her to write an award-winning master’s thesis on Title IX in her final year of NCAA eligibility. She’d use that framework to create a year-long weekly feature series at WIBW highlighting the pioneers who came before her, titled “IX at 50: The Trailblazers of Women’s Sports in Kansas.”

Outside of KCTV5, you can listen to Marleah’s Chiefs coverage on 101 The FOX, 94.9 KCMO and 95.7 The Vibe. She’s a host for KC Sports Network and leads their storytelling channel.

Katie Maher

Katie Maher has been a sports reporter and anchor at WIBW TV since June 2022. Katie graduated from the University of Maryland where she earned her degree in journalism. At UMD, she was the Executive Producer of The Left Bench TV, the TV Reporter for SB Nation’s award-winning Maryland site Testudo Times, an anchor and reporter for Capital News Service, and the President of the Association for Women in Sports Media.

Growing up, Katie was a dancer for 14 years. It wasn’t until she had knee surgery at the age of 16 and spent her entire summer on the couch watching preseason NFL shows, that found her passion for sports reporting. Katie has experience covering the Super Bowl, an Elite Eight run, the NFL Draft, bowl games, and the thrills of Friday night HS sports at WIBW TV.

Tim Twyman

Tim Twyman has been a photojournalist at KMBC-TV in Kansas City for over 40 years, covering the spectrum of television news from Super Bowls to standoffs, Oscars to hurricanes, World Series to riots. He has walked the streets of Communist Havana and the halls of Congress and Death Row. He trekked to the Athens Olympics, hitched
rides on fighter planes and ate dust on a cattle drive. Along the way, working with some incredibly talented reporters, he has interviewed everyone from Presidents to mobsters, Hall of Famers to boot camp Marines, music legends to mass murderers. But mostly he has helped tell the stories of thousands of regular folks that make up the tapestry of life in our times. Twyman has a National Edward R Murrow Award for Excellence in Video, numerous regional Murrows and over 20 Emmys. He has national awards from the National Press Photographers Association, is a regional NPPA Photographer of the Year and has numerous awards from KAB, MBA and other journalism organizations.

The Twyman family is deeply rooted at KMBC. His wife, Maria Antonia was a longtime anchor and reporter there and their son, Turner and his wife, Allison are both photojournalists at the station. Twyman is a graduate of the University of Missouri

 

 

Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) has joined forces with a free Transfer Portal to completely change the landscape of big-time college sports. Max will help explain how this all came about and what the future might look like for KU, K-State and Wichita State.

Max Utsler

Dr. Max Utsler spent 35 years teaching broadcast news at the University of Kansas. He also taught some sports-related courses. Prior to that he served as Assistant News Director at KSDK-TV in St. Louis. Prior to that he earned his Master’s and PhD at the University of Missouri and taught there for 10 years. He graduated from Knox College where he also played four years of football and baseball.

Max retired in 2019 and keeps busy as volunteer College Coordinator in Dayton Moore’s CYou In the Major Leagues Foundation. He is working his 12^th season as an Official Scorer for MLB. In the off-season he works statistics for ESPN and CBS college football and basketball.

 

Step into a captivating exploration of the art of storytelling in the audio realm amidst the visual dominance of the video age. In this session, we’ll delve into the timeless craft of using words to create vivid mental images. Discover the power of language, sound, and pacing as we navigate the intricate landscape of radio broadcasting, exploring techniques that transcend the limitations of the visual medium. Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or a curious enthusiast, this session invites you to rediscover the magic of painting pictures with words, unlocking the potential for rich, immersive narratives that captivate the imagination in an era dominated by the visual spectacle.

Brian Hanni

Brian Hanni is in his eighth season as the “Voice of the Jayhawks”, broadcasting men’s basketball, football and baseball games for his alma mater. A 2002 graduate from the University of Kansas, Hanni held several roles at KU prior to earning his “dream job” in the summer of 2016.  For ten years, Hanni was the Sports Director at 1320 KLWN in Lawrence – the Jayhawks’ flagship station.  At KLWN, Hanni created “Rock Chalk Sports Talk” which eventually picked up state-wide network syndication.  During those ten years, Hanni also broadcast KU women’s basketball and baseball while serving as the understudy to then KU-Voice, Bob Davis, on men’s basketball broadcasts.

In 2012, Hanni left the Sunflower State in an effort to bolster his resume as the “Voice the Red Raiders” at Texas Tech. While at Tech he had a chance to call two trips to the College World Series and an NCAA tournament run in hoops as well.

Away from broadcasting and writing, Hanni enjoys lending his voice and time to many local charitable organizations, including the “Rock Chalk Roundball Classic“, a pediatric cancer fundraiser he founded in 2009 that has raised over $1,000,000 in the last 14 years for local kids fighting cancer.  Brian is very passionate about using his platform in sports to enrich the lives of others and would be happy to talk to you about assisting a worthy cause in your life.

 

Nate Bukaty

Nate Bukaty, the voice of Sporting Kansas City, has been one of the premier sports voices in his hometown of Kansas City for over two decades. Nate has served as a play-by-play man in the booth for a vast array of both professional and major college athletics. He has worked as a studio pregame and postgame host, a sideline reporter, sports talk radio host, event host, and public speaker. Bukaty’s work as an ambassador for soccer has played an instrumental role in bringing the World Cup to Kansas City in 2026. He has been a central figure in many of the most significant moments in Kansas City sports history, from hosting MLB Network’s coverage of the Royals’ World Series Runs in 2014 and 2015 to hosting the city’s massive watch parties during the Chief’s Super Bowl Championship in 2019.

 

Wyatt Thompson

A four-time Kansas Sportscaster of the Year, including each of the last two years, and Kansas Broadcasting Hall of Famer, play-by-play announcer Wyatt Thompson serves as the anchor of the K-State Sports Network and returns for his 18th season behind the mic as “Voice of the Wildcats.”

K-State’s Director of Sportscasting, Thompson also serves as host of the Chris Klieman and Jerome Tang shows on both television and radio. In addition, he is heavily involved in various Catbacker Club, alumni and athletic department functions, frequently serving as a keynote speaker.

Thompson came to K-State from Colorado State, where he was the play-by-play voice for the Rams’ football and men’s basketball teams for five years. An accomplished broadcaster, he won the Colorado Broadcasting Association award for best play-by-play in 2000. In addition to his duties at CSU, he was also a sports reporter for Clear Channel Denver, the “Countdown to Kickoff” host for the Denver Broncos on KOA Radio and hosted the “Zone Sports Insiders” show on 760 The Zone in Denver.

Thompson started his broadcasting career in 1976 as a sportscaster for various high schools, colleges and universities in Kansas, spending time at stations in Hays and Goodland. He was recognized with the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Play-by-Play Award in 1982, the Oscar Stauffer Sportscaster of the Year Award in 1989, and the Hod Hummiston Award in 2011.

 

• Students/Educators – $15 per person
• KAB Members (Professionals) – $30 per person
• Non KAB Members (Professionals) – $40 per person

All registrations include lunch. Tickets to the Royals game are an additional $20 per person. Click the button below to register. Deadline to register is April 11.

The KAB understands that schools may not have the budget to travel long distances to attend our Student Awards Event/Presentation. Therefore, we are offering grants to schools based on size and distance from event location. If you are interested in applying, please fill out our grant application form.