The idea for EveryMorning Quarterback Radio started when Anthony Spagnolo and his friends were students at Rice Memorial High School.

“We would sit around the table and just talk sports,” said Spagnolo, now a junior at the University of Vermont. “Now, we basically do the same thing, except more people hear it.”

 Spagnolo hosts the popular radio sports program, broadcast by ESPN, every Saturday morning, along with several regular co-hosts. EMQ Radio covers local and national sports, as well as a bit of entertainment and weird news.

“We try to keep it fresh and funny and comedic,” said co-host Connor Mellen, also a UVM junior. “More like off the normal grid.”

The crew’s personalities set them apart from other talk shows, Spagnolo said, and they don’t hold back from expressing their opinions and cracking jokes on air.

“We try to make it different from normal talk shows,” Spagnolo said. “We try to use comedy to break things up. Sometimes we push the envelope a little too much, but I guess that’s why people like it.”

Spagnolo said the show doesn’t feel like work to him.

“It’s nice to just have a break in the whole week,” he said. “It’s not really a big job, we just talk sports and crack dumb jokes. It’s kind of nice to do something you know other people are hearing and other people like.”

Spagnolo and the crew started broadcasting the show at Champlain College, as part of the school’s radio program. When Spagnolo transferred to UVM in 2007, he knew they needed a new platform.

So, they sent their audio out to a ton of radio stations, hoping to get picked up by a local station. Instead, ESPN offered them a spot.

“That was pretty shocking,” Spagnolo said. “We didn’t think we were quite ready for that.”

Once they got on the air, Spagnolo said they used some “pretty weird marketing techniques” to build an audience. 

“We decided to do a GQ-style photo shoot to make it seem like we were big deals,” he said. “People thought we were big stars, which is a complete lie.”

Spagnolo said the photo shoot, as well as the show’s Web site and Facebook page, made people check it out.

“Once they heard us, they kind of got hooked on us,” he said.

Now, the crew has a growing guest list, from local sports stars to hockey analyst Barry Melrose.

Spagnolo said they don’t keep track of how many people listen each week, but random people are always coming up to them and telling them they love the show.

Some people, though, haven’t quite caught on.

One woman called the show recently thinking she was reaching a pizza parlor.

“We told her she was live on EveryMorning Quarterback, and she asked which quarterback it was,” Spagnolo said. “I guess she’s not a fan.”

Spagnolo isn’t sure what will happen with EMQ when he graduates, but he is hoping to turn the show into a paying gig.

“Hopefully someone will pick it up,” Spagnolo said. “If not, I’ll actually use my college degree.”

EveryMorning Quarterback is on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon on ESPN Radio WCAT 1390.

 

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