51ĀŅĀ×

Bryce Anslinger was the first person to be named Gridiron Glory host for two back-to-back seasons. At the time, he recognized that was a special thing, but now he understands how truly special it was.

ā€œIt was my junior and senior years. I knew it was unusual and hadnā€™t happened before,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œLooking back now, I know how important Gridiron is to the community and the fact that I was trusted with the show in my hands for two seasons was a tremendous honor.ā€

Anslinger grew up near Dayton, Ohio in Miamisburg. He was involved in his high schoolā€™s TV program and came to 51ĀŅĀ× to study journalism and become a sports broadcaster.

ā€œWhen I was looking at colleges, nobody had a program like 51ĀŅĀ×,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œWhile on a campus visit, I learned about the opportunities available at WOUB.ā€

And when Anslinger arrived on campus, he got involved at WOUB right away.

ā€œA friend from high school, Brad Shaffer, was a couple of years older than me and was working at WOUB as a photographer and director,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œHe let me know that you really should get started right away so you can work your way up. I started working on Gridiron during my freshman year. I rode along with Brad to see how the reporting process worked, and I eventually got a shot to cover my first game which was huge. I knew as a freshman it was unusual to get that chance.ā€

While out covering games, Anslinger realized the significance of Gridiron for the people in the region.

ā€œYou could tell, and I think this is one of the reasons the show has been so successful, that the community was grateful for what Gridiron does. I grew up watching highlights of my high school football team on TV in Dayton. These kids never had that until Gridiron. Nobody was showing their highlights on TV,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œEven though we would make mistakes because it was a college student production, the community was super grateful for the work we put in.ā€

Anslinger also valued the hands-on professional experience he was gaining as a reporter and host while working on the show.

ā€œGridiron has such a big staff and covers so many games,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œAnd there were older students who had been working on the show for several years that were like professionals at that point. They were leading the way. I could feel this was something big and something special, and I wanted to do the best job I could to move up.ā€

As WOUB marks 25 seasons, Anslinger isnā€™t surprised the show has continued to grow and provide value.

ā€œI canā€™t believe itā€™s been that long, but Iā€™m not surprised itā€™s continued,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œWhen I was a student, every year we were doing new stuff that I thought was cool. We kept innovating with ways to do the show, and I know the students now are hungry and have tremendous talent.ā€

After Anslinger served as Gridiron host for seasons four and five, he graduated from 51ĀŅĀ× and accepted a position as a weekend sports reporter and weekday news reporter at KERO TV in Bakersfield, California. He went on to work as a morning news anchor at KEZI TV in Eugene, Oregon and then a multimedia journalist and eventually a sports anchor and reporter at WCPO in Cincinnati, living out his dream of covering the Reds and Bengals before deciding to change his career direction.

ā€œI got into the marketing and public relations side of media,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œI currently manage the social media team at Cincinnati Childrenā€™s.ā€

Even though Anslinger has gotten out of the sports media field, he treasures his time working for WOUB and being a part of Gridiron Glory.

ā€œI talk to kids all the time who are interested in pursuing media and the first thing I tell them is you have to go to 51ĀŅĀ× and get involved at WOUB as early as you can,ā€ said Anslinger. ā€œWOUB was my education as far as what I needed for a real career in TV news. I got my real day-to-day experience there. You come out of college with the experience of someone who has already had their first job.ā€

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