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Gridiron Glory 25: Where Are They Now? – Season 4 and 5 Host Bryce Anslinger
< < Back to gridiron-glory-25-where-are-they-now-season-4-and-5-host-bryce-anslingerBryce Anslinger: GG Season 4 and 5 Host, broadcast journalism major, Graduated 2004
ATHENS, OH – 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.
“It was my junior and senior years. I knew it was unusual and hadn’t happened before,” said Anslinger. “Looking 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.”
Anslinger grew up near Dayton, Ohio in Miamisburg, He was involved in his high school’s TV program and came to Ohio University to study journalism and become a sports broadcaster.
“When I was looking at colleges, nobody had a program like Ohio University,” said Anslinger. “While on a campus visit, I learned about the opportunities available at WOUB.”
And when Anslinger arrived on campus, he got involved at WOUB right away.
“A friend from high school, Brad Shaffer, was a couple of years older than me and was working at WOUB as a photographer and director,” said Anslinger. “He 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.”
While out covering games, Anslinger realized the significance of Gridiron for the people in the region.
“You 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,” said Anslinger. “Even though we would make mistakes because it was a college student production, the community was super grateful for the work we put in.”
Anslinger also valued the hands-on professional experience he was gaining as a reporter and host while working on the show.
“Gridiron has such a big staff and covers so many games,” said Anslinger. “And 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.”
As WOUB marks 25 seasons, Anslinger isn’t surprised the show has continued to grow and provide value.
“I can’t believe it’s been that long, but I’m not surprised it’s continued,” said Anslinger. “When 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.”
After Anslinger served as Gridiron host for seasons four and five, he graduated from Ohio University 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.
“I got into the marketing and public relations side of media,” said Anslinger. “I currently manage the social media team at Cincinnati Children’s.”
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.
“I 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 Ohio University and get involved at WOUB as early as you can,” said Anslinger. “WOUB 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.”