VALDOSTA — Throughout the summer, ESPN will be looking for the city which best shows athletic tradition, pride and accomplishments in its search for TitleTown USA.
Twenty cities have been picked as finalists, with each getting a chance to show its stuff during a piece on SportsCenter.
Valdosta will make its claim for TitleTown USA when the city is shown on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday, July 16.
The broadcast will cap a four-hour ode to Valdosta, starting at 2 p.m. on ESPN Classic. ESPN’s retro station will show Valdosta’s 2004 national championship game against Pittsburg State (a 36-31 Blazer victory) from 2-4 p.m., followed by the Blazers’ 25-20 title win over Northwest Missouri State last December from 4-6 p.m.
Viewers can than switch over to ESPN for its 6 p.m. SportsCenter, which will be celebrating Valdosta as one of 20 TitleTown USA finalists.
The piece will feature an interview of former Lowndes High football standout Randall Godfrey, who has spent the past 12 seasons in the NFL, by ESPN reporter Wendi Nix, along with footage of thousands of Valdosta-area fans tailgating around Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
ESPN will be in Valdosta next Wednesday, July 9, to do the filming for its feature.
ESPN, Valdosta and Lowndes County have been asking fans to show their support of each school, team and organization that makes Valdosta worth of the nickname TitleTown USA. Fans can show that support by being at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium at 5:30 p.m. for the filming by ESPN.
The buzz the filmed spot has created so far in Valdosta has not gone unnoticed by ESPN, as they have decided the crews staffing their previous TitleTown shoots won’t be enough.
ESPN is discussing adding a jib camera, as well as bringing in a production truck and an extra crew to Valdosta. The previous other shoots, which include Lawrence, Kan. and Massillon, Ohio, didn’t garner as much production as what ESPN has planned for Valdosta.
Along with the shoot, The Valdosta Daily Times will be including cheer cards in the newspaper, three radio stations will be broadcasting live from Bazemore-Hyder, Valdosta mayor John Fretti will be on hand and Applebee’s will be catering for the ESPN crew that night.
Local Sports
Valdosta preparing to make TitleTown pitch
ESPN filming for feature on July 9 at Bazemore-Hyder
- Local Sports
-
-
VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
-
Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
-
All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
-
Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
-
Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
VSU teams hosting summer camps
