The REPORTER
Hamilton Southeastern got a chance to be part of a special honor for one of Indiana’s biggest supporters of high school sports Friday.
Anthony Calhoun, the sports director at WISH-TV, received the IHSAA’s Distinguished Media Service Award for District 2 during halftime of the Royals’ sectional championship football game with Fishers.
The Distinguished Media Service Award recognizes outstanding members of the Indiana news media from each of its three legislative districts for excellence in the coverage of high school sports. District 2 covers 28 counties across northern and central Indiana.
“Being from the state of Indiana, I know just how important the role of high school sports plays in our communities,” Calhoun told the Reporter at the game. “And they called me a couple of months ago about this opportunity to present me this award. It was really humbling because I grew up here playing high school athletics and I know what the IHSAA meant to me and my family, and to receive this recognition is really special.”
A.C., as he is affectionately known to many, is the longtime sports director and main anchor at WISH-TV and has covered Indiana high school sports for 25 years.
Besides his daily reporting and anchoring, Calhoun hosts several highly rated shows including SportsLocker, seen every Sunday night on WISH-TV. During football season, you can also catch him on Countdown to Kickoff, the Colts pre-game show on Sunday mornings.
A.C. anchors The Zone, a weekly high school football and basketball highlight show on Friday nights. He also hosts The Zone Extra on Thursday nights which is believed to be the only weekly 30-minute show on television dedicated solely to Indiana high school sports.
Calhoun also originated The Zone Banner “spirit award” that recognizes the Best Student Section in Central Indiana during the football season. This coveted spirit award has helped generate passion and fervor among high school students on Friday nights for many years.
Hamilton Southeastern students presented Calhoun with a banner and cake congratulating him on the award. (Richie Hall)
Calhoun was presented the award by IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig, Sports Information Director Jason Wille and Assistant Commissioner Janie Ulmer, who was the principal at Southeastern prior to joining the IHSAA.
After the presentation, a few HSE students presented Calhoun with a congratulatory banner and a cake, and he happily took a picture with those Royals.
“We have places that we enjoy going to, and there’s no doubt going to HSE or going to Fishers is always a treat every Friday night,” said Calhoun. “And whenever these two schools get together, we know it’s always going to be a great battle on the football field, but also among the student sections as well, because they support those student-athletes and these football teams better than most schools in the state of Indiana. That’s how special these student sections are and just the whole community. And you look around with 10,000 folks here during the regular season, and here they are in the post-season coming out to support their teams. There’s nothing like it here.”