Pioneer Announcers Mark Evenstad and Doug Wagen Earn Prestigious WIAC Tom Butler Award

University of Wiscosnin-Platteville announcers Mark Evenstad and Doug Wagen have been named co-recipients of the 2012 Tom Butler Award by the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).

Evenstad and Wagen co-founded the “Pioneer Sports Network” and provide color and play-by-play analysis for UW-Platteville men’s and women’s basketball and football games on WPVL/WGLR radio in Platteville/Lancaster.  The duo also covered the 1995 Chicago Bears Training Camp at UW-Platteville and provided “Cheese League Updates” for various radio stations.

Wagen is the sports director at Queen B Radio with his responsibilities including writing, producing and anchoring daily sports casts.  He also edits and writes daily sports updates on WGLR.com.  In addition, Wagen is the news director and operations manager for five stations with Queen B Radio.

He also serves as play-by-play and color commentator for Home Talent Baseball League games in Southwestern Wisconsin, and play-by-play voice of Lancaster High School football contests.  He has won a pair of awards from the Wisconsin Broadcaster’s Association, including “Best Sports Feature” for “County Stadium Diary” and “Best Play-By-Play”.

He earned play-by-play experience at WDBQ/Dubuque, Iowa, WRHL/Rochelle, Ill., and WTSO/Madison.  Wagen received his bachelor of science degree in radio and television broadcasting from UW-Platteville where he was a member of the Pioneer baseball team and worked for campus radio station WSUP.

Evenstad joined WPVL/WGLR in 1999 and assists the station with airshift fill-in, news and sales.  He serves as host of “The Open Field” - a 30-minute local sports talk show that airs weekly on ESPN Double Team.

His career includes stints at WXXQ/Freeport, Ill., WDBQ/Dubuque, Iowa, WNAM-WAHC/Appleton-Oshkosh, WKAU/Appleton-Green Bay, WDUX/Waupaca and WEKZ/Monroe.  In 2006, Evenstad was presented the Joe Dommershausen Award for outstanding coverage and promotion of the Home Talent Baseball League.

Evenstad is an alumnus of UW-Platteville where he worked for campus radio station WSUP and broadcasted his first Pioneer basketball game in November 1977.

The Tom Butler Award was established in 1998 and has been given annually to a representative of the print or electronic media for outstanding coverage of WIAC athletics.  The league’s sports information directors select the winner.  The award is dedicated to Tom Butler, who served the conference faithfully as its sports information director from 1967-96.