George Mason basketball radio broadcasts will be a little different this year

The school announced last week that they will be releasing a GoMason Mobile app for streaming audio of basketball games this season. The broadcast will not be on any other local station such as 106.7 The Fan,  ESPN 980, or even a smaller AM platform.  This decision might have been a cost issue as it is pricey for a school like Mason to have play-by-play on the local radio airwaves. I don't think this will be a negative issue because most fans listen through internet streaming as it is and the only difference would be not being able to listen to broadcasts on your car's radio.  And since almost everyone has a smartphone these days I don't see this affecting that many people.  

Bill Rohland will be back as the play-by-play guy but could be doing a few games solo this season as color analyst and Mason alum Ric Wilson has taken another job and won't be able to make all the games. I'm told the color commentary at this point is basically TBD so we will have to wait and see. However WGMU Radio, the school's own student run radio station, has announced that they will be an official streaming partner for the men's basketball games and will be broadcasting every game. Streams will be available on their website.

The schools says it will be releasing a full press release today, so hopefully that will shed more light on the subject.

UPDATE 10/27:

The school has an official press release today regarding the GoMason Mobile app. The key features of the app include:

• Radio broadcast of all men's basketball games
• Radio broadcast of all women's home basketball games
• Broadcast of pre and post-game shows
• New video features
• Social network capabilities
• Team rosters, calendar and game schedules
• Access to Mason promotions and online store for merchandise and tickets

I have to applaud the athletic department for making a bold move like this as it can really help connect fans and alumni more to Mason basketball. The "social media tools" feature could be something cool for Mason fans if implemented correctly with cool in-game features. And the ability to listen to a half-time show from your seats at the Patriot Center is going something I'm sure fans will love.

No word yet on whether Ric Wilson will still be doing a few games as color analyst or if Bill Rohland will be doing all the broadcasts himself. I would think a replacement color analyst could soon be in the works.

The launch of this app and the election to not have a tradition radio broadcast shows that George Mason is definitely backing up it's slogan of being a school "Where Innovation is Tradition".