By Daniel Wirtheim, Features Editor

Published in print Apr. 1, 2015

It was an above average voice. It was distinct, melodic and direct— a voice that exuded authority. It was “Stuart Barefoot with your WUAG Sports News update,” and it was a hit.

At parties, walking down the street or in class, listeners would ask Stuart Barefoot to repeat his sign-on. At first, it made him self-conscious, but when Barefoot realized they were not making fun of him, he saw a future in sports broadcasting.

After Barefoot graduated in 2012 and turned the “Sports Cycle” over to the next host, he spent some time as a “voice artist,” narrating educational videos, before he started “The Small League” podcast with his Sports Cycle co-host, Ryan Hecht. So far “The Small League” has had nine episodes and is available for download on iTunes.

The podcast is recorded each week in a friend’s bedroom, with a couple of microphones and a loosely structured page of talking points.

“It’s part nonsense, kind of funny and like no sports podcast you’ve heard before,” is how Barefoot introduces each episode. As he leads the friends through recent sports news, Hecht brings insightful anecdotes and analysis to the table—often looking beyond the playing field.

“I think ballparks tend to shy away from phallic foods,” commented Hecht on the most recent “Small League” podcast. “You often don’t see someone eating a corndog at a sporting event, even though you think, ‘that would make a lot of sense.”

The conversation regularly takes awkward turns— serious sports commentary that branches off into the absurd. While Barefoot and Hecht might be discussing the recent developments of the NCAA tournament, “Nascar Movie” Ned Carter—a staple contributor of “The Small League”—could intercede with film commentary.

In the latest episode (episode nine), Nascar Movie Ned discusses the film “Hoosiers,” which everyone at “The Small League” agrees carries the quintessential sports movie tropes— a group of misfits and an old, grizzly coach work together to win and learn from one another. Nascar Movie Ned concedes that “Hoosiers,” is one of the better basketball movies, with a few out of place sequences that give the film a general ‘A.’

“It never really occurred to me to collaborate with [Nascar Movie Ned],” said Barefoot. “But then we were doing this podcast in his bedroom—we use his bedroom—so it only seemed fair to ask him.”

Other guests to “The Small League” include Ian Foster and Brendan Daniel, both UNCG alumni.

Barefoot spent two years perfecting a conversational tone in attempt to further integrate “The Sports Cycle” into the WUAG community that he saw as a music-driven subculture with little need for an all-out sports show.

“I think at first, I felt a real need to exert myself as an authority on a subject,” said Barefoot. “I felt like it was really important to act like I knew everything and I think that once I got away from that—once I realized I don’t know everything, and that it’s okay to wonder aloud on air, it’s okay to approach weird ideas sometimes—I think that’s how the ‘Sports Cycle’ really evolved.”

Although Barefoot graduated with a degree in Geography and Urban Planning, he plans on furthering his career as a voice artist and PA Announcer. 

“What if one day I did have an opportunity to move up?” said Barefoot. “Would I want to go to ESPN, where I’d just get lost in a sea of really ambitious, talented people, or would I rather nurse my own little brain child for a while?”