AXS TV preps for Saturday's 119th Monon Bell Classic

Monday, November 5, 2012
The broadcast team of Kenny Rice (left) and Paul Maguire will return to call the annual rivalry game between DePauw and Wabash on Saturday, which will be broadcast to a national TV audience. (Courtesy photo)

When the DePauw University Tigers and Wabash College Little Giants take the field Saturday for the 119th time in one of college football's greatest rivalries, a national television audience will again be looking in. Play-by-play announcer Kenny Rice and veteran analyst and former NFL player Paul Maguire will be in the broadcast booth at Hollett Little Giant Stadium in Crawfordsville as AXS TV airs the Monon Bell Classic for the seventh consecutive year. Kickoff is at 1:07 p.m.

Formerly known as HDNet, the network has televised the DePauw-Wabash game every year since 2006 and also covered the 2003 game. Rice and Maguire will be joined by Brad Wochomurka, a 2004 DePauw University graduate and former Tiger football player, who will provide updates from the sidelines along with his Wabash counterpart, Matt Hudson.

Tickets are still available for Saturday's game at the athletic department office in the Lilly Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (cash only). Information can be found online at depauw.edu.

The 119th Monon Bell Classic will be the seventh in the historic rivalry that Kenny Rice has called. The veteran sportscaster has worked with NBC, ESPN, and FSN at various times during his career. He has covered numerous college football, basketball, and baseball games and served as a boxing reporter at the 2004 Olympic Games and an equestrian reporter during the 2008 Olympics. Rice has also been a reporter for NBC's Football Night in America covering weekly NFL games. Rice has done play-by-play for AXS TV since 2003.

Paul Maguire, who has covered the last two Bell battles, went from an NFL career to becoming one of the nation's best-known football analysts. His résumé includes covering four Super Bowls (XXII, XXIII, XXVII and XXX) over a broadcast career of more than 40 years. He served as a member of NBC's lead NFL broadcast team with Dick Enberg, provided color commentary for ESPN's NFL Sunday Night Football and worked as an analyst for college football on ABC.

Maguire had an 11-year professional football career as a punter and linebacker for the San Diego Chargers (1960-63) and Buffalo Bills (1964-70), during which time he played in six American Football League championship games. He was a member of three AFL championship teams (1963-65) and was named to the Bills' Silver Anniversary All-Time Team as a punter in 1984.

Maguire is one of only 20 players who were in the AFL for its entire 10 season existence. He is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

Saturday's contest marks the third time Brad Wochomurka has served as DePauw's sideline reporter on the national Monon Bell telecast. Wochomurka was a communications major and Media Fellow at DePauw where he played wide receiver for legendary football coach Nick Mourouzis.

As a broadcaster, he has covered numerous professional and college sporting events and spent time as a drive-time sports talk radio host. Wochomurka continues to work as a freelance broadcaster while serving as a channel sales manager for ExactTarget, an interactive marketing agency in Indianapolis.

Homes and retail establishments across America will be able to tune in the game on AXS TV, and there will again be telecast parties arranged by DePauw and Wabash alumni in more than 60 cities across the nation.

AXS TV is available in the U.S. via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other TV providers. AXS TV can be found online at www.axs.tv, on Facebook at facebook.com/axstv and on Twitter at @axstv.

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