Click here to Listen Live during Friday night games
Interested in advertising on the Blue Devil Sports Network? Click here to email us!
The Blue Devil Sports Network (BDSN) consists of a group of volunteers who records each WHHS football game for replay on a local cable access channel through Comcast cable television in White House. The program is the most watched local program in White House each fall and provides Blue Devil fans a chance to enjoy the past game, local businesses a chance to advertise to the local market, and the WHHS football program a chance to generate needed revenue.
The driving force of the network is
Billy Jackson, a former Blue Devil football standout, who
began working with a radio crew in 1988 to provide game replays to
air on WHIN in Gallatin on Saturday mornings. In 1994, BDSN went to
a live Friday-night radio broadcast on Springfield’s WDBL. Jackson
provided play by play, Barry “Bama” Wells added color commentary,
and Randy Cline joined the crew as a sideline
reporter. Cline had been on the sidelines since 1989 covering the
Blue Devils for a local newspaper.
In 1996, the broadcast added video and moved from radio to television. Bryce Ruth operated the video camera, Martha Ruth kept stats, and Trudy Jackson worked as spotter and back-up camera operator. In 1997, Bama Wells “retired” and Cline took over the color role from the sidelines. Lee Smith, WH QB Club president at that time, joined the network to handle the advertisements and provide additional color. So the “on air” part of BDSN has been the same since 1997.
The BDSN game broadcast was carried live on WHIN for the semi-final game from Loudon in 1997, as well as the State Championship game from Vanderbilt. WHIN also used the BDSN crew for a Portland playoff game and, on a few occasions, the crew has had the same game broadcast live on one radio station, on tape delay on another station, and on video on local cable access. The BDSN crew game call was also broadcast live on a Marshall County radio station when their longtime game announcer had to miss the White House game to attend his daughter’s wedding.
In 2003, Frank Tollett, the PA announcer for the White House Jr. Pro League, joined the BDSN to operate the camera and provide technical assistance. The Network’s broadcast went to cyberspace in 2005 when Band of Pride parent John McDuffee joined the BDSN as Director of Internet Services. Blue Devil fans can now receive streaming audio of the games live via the internet anywhere in the world.
The Network took on a mascot in 2007. Jackson’s faithful and well-mannered black Labrador, Jack, began attending home games donning his Big Blue kerchief. Jack has made a couple of road trips with the crew but his reception away isn’t always as welcoming as at home. Jack enjoys Blue Devil football almost as much as the rest of the Blue Devil Sports Network.