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For many who were 51���� students in March of 2020, being sent home due to the COVID-19 Pandemic was devastating. For Noah Wolf, being sent home was a blessing in disguise.

“I was told that there was an opening for radio play-by-play with Iowa State women's basketball, but I didn't think I would be available for it because I'd be needed in November but would be in Athens until December 2020,” said Wolf. “However, when I got sent home to Iowa early because of COVID, I was available to take the job.”

After four seasons with the team, it’s a job that fulfills Wolf’s dream of being a play-by-play broadcaster. In addition to women’s basketball, Wolf has worked the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows for Iowa State football. It’s what Wolf has wanted to do since he was a young boy growing up in Cedar Falls.

“During my college search process, I was looking for good journalism schools,” said Wolf. “The reputation of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism was very good. After visiting small schools, I realized I wanted a bigger university rather than a small private school. And once I visited 51����, it was game over at that point. I loved the campus, and the vibe of Athens was really great.”

Wolf got involved working at WOUB right away as a freshman.

“Before I had taken a college class, I was watching a live episode of Gridiron Glory (GG) in the WOUB TV studios,” said Wolf. “Bob Stewart (former director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism) sent an email out inviting all freshman to watch Gridiron.”

GG is WOUB’s half-hour high school football show that airs live during the fall.

“After the show was over, we were told we could come back for a meeting next week if we wanted to get involved with the show. I did that and before I knew it, I was sent to cover a high school football game. I also went on the air as a freshman.”

After GG was over for the season, Wolf started working on WOUB’s high school basketball program, Hardwood Heroes, which prepared him to eventually try out for and be named GG’s co-host for the 20th season of the program in 2018.

“I certainly cut my teeth in video editing and on-camera appearances that don’t directly relate to the radio work that I’m doing now, but any time you are covering local sports you are developing skills that will help you in any part of media you go into,” said Wolf. “It was a challenge to cover local high school sports in a region that really doesn’t have a lot of coverage. You have to do a lot of work and become the primary source of information which is invaluable. The same skills apply when you research teams to get ready for a radio play-by-play broadcast.”

Wolf also learned how to build relationships with coaches and players, which is critical to building trust.

“You have to become trusted so that the coaches will tell you information,” said Wolf. “On Gridiron, I developed the skills needed to talk to coaches and high school players.”

By the time Wolf was a junior, he stepped back from WOUB and started to work more for the 51���� Athletic Department to build his play-by-play skills working with 51���� Field Hockey and Soccer and becoming the public address announcer for the 51���� Marching 110. But he knows his experience on Gridiron and Hardwood set him up for success.

“Being able to get comfortable on camera and live TV situations helped me a lot,” said Wolf. “The first time I was live in any respect was on Gridiron, and now I’m live twice a week with women’s basketball.”

Learn more about WOUB.