Student sports talk show makes noise on WIUS

The Bloomington radio airwaves are being treated to "The Total Package" this summer.\nSupported by the IU student radio station, WIUS-AM 1570, "The Total Package" is a sports talk show hosted by graduate students Pete Rowley and former IDS columnist Kevin Switaj. \nAt 8 p.m. every Tuesday, Switaj and Rowley sit down for an hour with various guests to discuss sports issues concerning IU and other institutions. Some of their past guests have ranged from IU alumni to the professional media. The duo has welcomed recently retired IU men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley on the air, as well as former Hoosier football stars and current National Football League players Adewale Ogunleye of the Miami Dolphins, and Switaj's favorite, Antwaan Randle El, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. \n"We get guests that we feel people around IU would be interested in hearing," Switaj said. "There are some that we've tried to get that we have been stonewalled on, but we tend to get most of the people that we're looking for."\n"The Total Package" began by chance after classmates overheard and suggested to Switaj and Rowley that they go on-air with their humorous sports disputes. \n"The constant arguments that we had were so amusing to the people around us that they'd joke and say that we should take the show on the road," Rowley said.\nSo, the best friends decided to bid on a spot for their very own sports talk show, and for the past year they have delivered their show to local and national audiences by radio and Internet transmission.\nSome of their guests are more controversial than others. On last Tuesday's show, "The Total Package" invited retired faculty member Murray Sperber into the WIUS studio to discuss his widely publicized views on collegiate athletics.\n"I would say he is the most controversial figure on this campus in terms of the IU sports fan base," Switaj said. "We were totally enthused to have Sperber here with us on 'The Total Package.'"\nOther than working as a professor in the English and American studies departments, Sperber is known for criticizing the NCAA and the IU athletic programs, most notably the coaching tactics of former men's basketball coach Bobby Knight. \n"It was never really a story about me and Bob Knight," Sperber explained on the air. "I worked in Ballantine Hall, he worked in Assembly Hall. He was making over a million dollars, I was making like less than a 20th of what he was making. He was in the commercial entertainment business as opposed to higher education."\nSperber, the author of four books on the subject of collegiate athletics, is not the only literary star the show has attracted. Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl will be joining the show next week to talk about topics ranging from his professional experiences to the IU soccer program's role in furthering the sport in the United States.\n"The Total Package" interacts with its audience and welcomes listener feedback by phone or by AOL Instant Messenger during the show. Listeners can dial 855-WIUS, and if a listener chooses to instant message, WIUS can be reached by contacting the screen name, wiusrequest. The show is also available at www.wius.org.\nRowley's said his motivation to continue sports talk radio with WIUS to have fun. Both he and his co-host said they enjoy their time in and out of the studio and are happy to be suppliers of sports information and entertainment. \n"There really isn't a sports talk voice in Bloomington," Switaj said. "So we at WIUS provide that outlet and will continue to do that."\n-- Contact staff writer Ricardo Hernandez at \nrihernan@indiana.edu.