K-State freshman chosen for national Sugar Bowl play-by-play coverage
Dec. 20, 2022 — Wildcat 91.9 (KSDB-FM) sports commentator and broadcaster J.P. Cardenas will call No. 9 Kansas State's Allstate Sugar Bowl appearance against No. 5 Alabama for Tico Sports, a national Spanish language broadcast network.
As an incoming freshman earlier this year, Cardenas joined Wildcat 91.9 with the hopes of calling Wildcat games in English. Before he even had a chance to see the inside of Bill Snyder Family Stadium, however, a representative of Tico Sports reached out to A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication professor and Wildcat 91.9 faculty advisor Ian Punnett in search of bilingual students who might be interested in participating in some capacity in its first ever Spanish broadcasts of Kansas State Wildcats football.
"I told her right away, 'I know a guy,’" Punnett recalled. "He is the number one prospect you need to talk to for Tico. I have a couple other support people for you, too."
The other recommendation that Punnett had in mind was junior Fernanda Martinez, a recent transfer to the school, whom Punnett had taught in a summer writing class. Martinez will produce the broadcast.
"Even though the class was online, and Fernanda was taking it from Mexico, I have worked with so many media producers that I knew right away Fernanda had the chops to run a show. Teaching and creating more media in Spanish."
Follow Wildcat 91.9's Cardenas and Martinez's Sugar Bowl adventures with Tico Sports through Wildcat 91.9’s social media.
To hear Tico Sports broadcasts, visit tico-sports.com.
About Wildcat 91.9-FM
Wildcat 91.9-FM is a non-profit, student run radio station service Kansas State University and the city of Manhattan. Wildcat 91.9-FM provides original and diverse programming that aims to educate and entertain its listeners. Students are provided the unique opportunity to learn professional broadcasting skills in an engaging, hands-on environment. Wildcat 91.9 will work to foster the unique perspective and skills of all involved students. They will use these skills to positively affect the student body at Kansas State, the Manhattan community, and beyond.