Brian Scala 
Class of 2001

Brian Scala

B.A. '01
WNHU Position: Sports Director (1995–96)
Shows Hosted: Sports Zone, New Music, 60’s
 

I’m truly grateful for my time as a New Music and 60s DJ. However, my brief time as sports director gave me my fondest memory. I’ve often said that some of my favorite moments are born from plans that go awry. Such was the case on Friday night, October 20th, 1995, when the New Haven Chargers football team traveled across town to visit their arch rivals at Southern Connecticut State University.

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In the 1990s, many radio stations used landlines as a direct audio feed to their main studios, especially for live shows, interviews, and call-in segments. This was also true of sports broadcasts. However, the team and I were convinced that, because of the short distance to SCSU, we could broadcast the game via the antenna system that was commonly used for Charger home games.

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Unfortunately, the weather played a deciding factor. It poured throughout the evening. Scott Criscuolo and I proceeded to call the action without realizing anything was wrong. Midway through the first quarter, we saw our studio host, the late, great Jim Abbott, barrel through the press box to inform us there was no signal and we had dead air. Indeed, he had driven in the rain from WNHU to Jess Dow Field to salvage the broadcast.

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At that point, we borrowed a phone and called studio co-host Matt Mentone to put us on the air. Scott and I called the game by handing the receiver back and forth to each other all night long. The Chargers defeated the Owls in a driving rainstorm. It was far and away my favorite moment as WNHU sports director.

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