Editor’s Note: Levi Coovert is a sports editor at the Daily Evergreen, but this does not factor into the story’s content.

Within the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at WSU lies KUGR, a student-run radio station focused on launching the careers of future broadcasters and media professionals.

“There’s a function in place at KUGR so that students who are serious about a career in broadcasting have a safe place to go for critique,” said Brandon Chapman.

Chapman is the director of marketing and communications for the College of Education at WSU and is also the faculty advisor for KUGR. As a WSU alumnus, he returned to his alma mater in 2013 with a clear goal.

“When I was a student, we had what I would affectionately call a single-wide trailer on top of the stadium as our press box,” said Champan. “So when I came back in 2013 and I wanted to get involved and help mentor students, as they had a phenomenal opportunity in that spot in this press box.”

This new luxury sparked motivation for Chapman.

“I wanted to give back to KUGR, a program that had given me so many opportunities when I was a student, and a chance to get a lot of reps.”

Chapman’s role involves providing advice and mentorship to students on the radio call while allowing them the freedom to lead the station.

“The beauty of KUGR is that it is student-led, but I feel strongly that as an advisor, my role is to give advice and then get the heck out of the way,” said Chapman.

This hands-off approach extends to providing opportunities for students to hone their skills in real-world scenarios, allowing students to practice sports broadcasting live on the KUGR YouTube channel.

“I went down to Texas with (Chapman) and that was a really good experience, I think there’s no better experience than learning firsthand, like just doing it,” said sophomore and KUGR sports director Davis Hagen.“We got four full games against Iowa, so the experiential learning that KUGR allows students to have is unmatched by any other opportunity here at Washington State.”

No matter the interest, KUGR provides a unique platform for all students with media interests.

“If you are even a little bit interested in that as a career, you should definitely do it because it’s an easy way to get practice and become more comfortable,” said Levi Coovert, a junior broadcast news student and KUGR member.

Coovert has had the opportunity to call football, baseball, volleyball and both men’s and women’s basketball games for KUGR.

“Students have a lot of opportunities,” said Chapman. “If you want to do a podcast, there are always opportunities—whether you want to do it as more of the podcast side, the play-by-play side, the media correspondent side—there’s always an opportunity there.”

Beyond the college level, KUGR has impacted the professional circuit as well.

“KUGR has a legacy of amazing broadcasters and my role is to continue helping produce these kinds of talents,” said Chapman.

Chapman mentioned current “Voice of the Cougs” Chris King, Tri-City Dust Devils broadcaster Doug Taylor and Seattle Mariners radio broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. as media professionals who are KUGR alumni.

While the opportunities at KUGR are student-led, they are not student-funded, and Chapman stressed the importance of the help they receive.

“We cannot thank ASWSU enough for its generosity in continually funding KUGR year after year, and we have been tremendously blessed to have very generous donors who have been willing to help our students have continuous experiential learning opportunities,” said Chapman.