WHO COVERS THE RIPON TIGERS – THE MEDIA?
Ripon Tiger fans can enjoy coverage of the 2009 season live on the radio (AM-1600 - WRPN), live on the Internet at www.wrpnam.com and tape delayed on Local Channel 97.
WRPN-AM will broadcast Tiger football for the 52nd consecutive season. Aaron Kramer (play-by-play) and Bob Lukoski (color) will return to the airwaves for the 13th straight
season. 2009 will mark the fourth season that Tiger games will be streamed on the Internet on a regular basis. On Channel 97, Steve Prestegard (play-by-play) and Marty
Ernser (color) will bring Tiger fans all the action of another exciting season. Channel 97 games can be viewed on Saturdays at noon and 9 PM and Sundays at 4 AM. Tiger
games can be seen on all season long on The Ripon Channel. Ripon Tiger Football television telecasts date back to the Tigers' first state championship season in 2003.
Newspaper coverage is provided by the Ripon Commonwealth-Press, which is published each Wednesday.
THE RADIO TEAM
AARON KRAMER - Aaron has been mayor of Ripon since 2003, and is the person behind ripontigerfootball.com...His broadcasting highlights include the 2004 Division Four
football championship, Ripon's 2000 Division 2 baseball title, the Tiger's 2003 trip to state in boys basketball, and the 1998 Division 2 volleyball championship...He graduated
from Ripon High School and has two degrees from UW-Stevens Point...He has also covered Ripon College football and basketball on the WRPN airwaves, and was a member
of the WRPN Morning Show, as news director (1992-95, 97-2003). He also worked at radio stations in Berlin, Fond du Lac, Stevens Point and Emporia, KS...He is currently
employed by the Diedrich Insurance Agency in Ripon...Was an assistant JV baseball coach for Ripon High School this spring...Is a licensed WIAA official in several sports...Aaron and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters, Kylie, who turned four on May 4th, and Emily (Emmy) who turned one this past April.
BOB LUKOSKI - Bob has been announcing Tiger athletics since the 1970s, and has partnered with Aaron since the middle of the 1997 football season...He is retired from Wisconsin Power and Light, and was formerly Ripon's fire chief...He is a 1951 graduate of Ripon High School, and played on the 1949 Tiger championship football team...He and his wife, Carol, reside in Ripon.
JASON MANSMITH - Jason became the first sideline reporter in Tiger broadcast history in 2007...He is the morning anchor and general manager for WRPN-AM...A graduate of Ripon High School and
UW-Oshkosh
HOWARD HANSEN - Howard, who is an assistant coach for the Tiger baseball team in the spring, handle the stats for the broadcasting team. He owns Imagineers, a custom screen-printing company in
downtown Ripon.
STAFF - Sarah Kesich is the person behind the scenes, the lady who makes Bob, Aaron and Jason sound as good as possible. She is the person who answers the phone on half-time trivia, and edits the
game highlights.
THE TELEVISION TEAM
STEVE PRESTEGARD - Steve is back for his seventh season of Tiger play-by-play. Prestegard has announced Ripon Tiger football, boys and girls basketball, wrestling and soccer and Ripon College football and men's and women's basketball for the Ripon Channel, along with exclusive election night news coverage. He announced Marian College hockey for FDL Podcasting in the 2007-08 season. He previously announced Ripon College basketball for WRPN (1600 AM) with Frank Bush, whom he is joining for Ripon College football and basketball this fall and winter on The Ripon Channel. Prestegard, the editor of Marketplace Magazine in the Fox Cities, is married to Jannan Roesch (pronounced "RAYSH," not "RESH," as in John Roesch) and is the father of Michael, 9, Dylan, 6, and Shaena, 4.
MARTY ERNSER - Marty, a graduate of Ripon High School, attended Ripon College before graduating from UW-Stevens Point...He formerly called Ripon College games on WRPN...His son, John, who
graduated from Ripon College, holds several Tiger football records, including returning three kicks for touchdowns in a single season...His daughter, Mallory, played on the Tiger girl's basketball team...Marty owns Ernser Investments in Ripon...Marty and his wife, Connie, reside in Ripon
STAFF - Riley Icenogle is the executive producer of Tiger football on The Ripon Channel. Frank Bush returns as the press box statistician.
BILL BUTLER - DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
FAMILY : Wife - Deborah Children - 3 boys and 1 girl
HIGH SCHOOL-COLLEGE : Berlin, Tennessee-Chattanooga
NOTES : Bill, a former head coach at Green Lake, was a 19th round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1959, and beat out several players, including Ripon College RB Dave Smith, for one of the final spots on the roster...He returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in a 28-17 loss to the Chicago Bears...Bill carried the ball seven times for 49 yards and caught one pass for minus-2 yards...He led the 1959 Packers in punt returns - 18 (9.1 average) - and kickoffs - 21 (22.5 average).. In 1960, Butler was drafted by Dallas in the expansion draft, making him one of only three men to play for Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry in their first seasons as head coaches...Converted to a DB in Dallas, Butler had one interception, and was a standout kick returner. He ran back 13 punts (10.6 average) and 20 kickoffs (19.1 average)...Bill played for Pittsburgh (1961) before ending his career in Minnesota (1962-1964).
GIB STOEBERL - OFFENSIVE LINE
FAMILY : Wife - Karen - Children - Todd, Jeff and Matt - Grandchildren - Nine and counting
HIGH SCHOOL-COLLEGE : Rice Lake, UW-Superior (BS), UW-Oshkosh (MES)
NOTES - Has been a mainstay on the Tiger coaching staff since joining the program in the late 1960s under head coach Jim Watson...During his teaching career, he was an outstanding
wrestling coach, winning several conference titles, and sending a number of grapplers to state...Gib is a member of the Ripon Common Council, and served as president of the Ripon Area
Fire District and remains a member...He is also the state coordinator for "We The People", a national civics program for high school students.
