In the past, the only way Storm fans could keep up with their team was to attend every game in person. However, with the rigors of classes and one’s own extracurricular activities, attending every game is rarely a viable option.

A collaborative effort between the Athletic Department and Simpson’s radio station, KSTM, is making it possible for fans to follow the Storm from anywhere.

Basketball will join football as sports that can be heard on KSTM or through Internet streaming on Red Zone Media, accessible on Simpson’s Web site.

“The tentative plan for basketball is to do all of the games after the first of the year,” said Matt Turk, sports information director.

Basketball games are only a part of the planned expansion, as spring sports hope to be involved in the near future.

“I’m hoping that, maybe later on, it will spread in terms of doing more things with baseball and softball, but at least it’s a place for us to start in terms of the money we have to use right now,” said Chad Roberts, instructor of communication studies/student media specialist.

Roberts, a 15-year veteran of the broadcasting industry, will handle the play-by-play duties. However, he’ll need a partner to perform the color commentary responsibilities.

“I am going to be doing a lot of the games, but I’m also going to have students help me out,” Roberts said. “It’s a good process to have students who are interested in sports broadcasting get their feet wet doing some basketball games.”

During his four years at Winona State University, Roberts was the voice of the Warriors in football, basketball, baseball and softball. Roberts received little instruction on play-by-play broadcasting prior to his start and expects interested students to take a similar path at Simpson.

“We will go through a training process with them, and I will get them comfortable,” Roberts said. “A lot of it will be learning on the fly, though.”

A large reason Simpson is now able to broadcast basketball games is because of a sponsorship from the DanLee Corporation.

“The sponsorship allows us the opportunity to help pay for the talent and, more importantly, to pay for the Internet streaming,” Turk said.

Simpson has never broadcast basketball games on a regular basis. However, doing so will not be a venture into the unknown for the college.

“We did four women’s basketball games last year including the NCAA Tournament, and that seemed to be received very well,” Turk said.

It looks as though broadcasting both men’s and women’s games will be a welcome addition this year as well.

“It’s good to get other sports (besides football) involved so everyone gets their recognition,” said senior J.P. Webb, an avid basketball fan. “I think people will listen. I will probably listen if I don’t go to the game.”

To tune in to Storm Basketball this season, turn your FM dial to 88.9 or look for Red Zone Media on Simpson’s Web site.