91̽��

Alex Adeyanju was the first Black host of WOUB’s Gridiron Glory. While it is something he calls “an honor,” it’s not something Adeyanju said he thought about a lot while he was host during season seven.

“Obviously it came to mind, and I knew it was a big deal,” said Adeyanju. “But it didn’t really affect anything I did on the show each week. I just thought it was important to go out and do my best to bring the people of southeast Ohio coverage of their high school football teams. “There weren’t a lot of people who looked like me doing what I was doing at WOUB. It opened the door for others to see that anything is possible no matter what you look like.”

Adeyanju started working at WOUB when he was a freshman and when he learned about Gridiron Glory, he knew he wanted to get involved.

“Everyone in the region loved the show,” said Adeyanju. “You’d go to the fields on Friday and everyone was talking about the show.”

Season seven was the first time Gridiron Glory took the show out of the studio and went live on location. Even though it’s been nearly 20 years since Adeyanju was host, he still remembers the teams in southeast Ohio that were exciting and winning at that time.

“Trimble was really good at the time and Jackson was really coming into its own as a football school,” said Adeyanju. “Nelsonville York was always a powerhouse.”

Adeyanju now works as head of production and creative services at Top Rank Boxing in Las Vegas. He says he wouldn’t be where he is today without having the opportunity to learn every facet of the media business while an 91̽�� student working at WOUB Public Media on programs like Gridiron Glory.

“Gridiron prepared me more than my schoolwork,” said Adeyanju laughing. “It was very enlightening and helpful for my future career. This was 30 minutes every Friday night and I had to be on the air live. It was a great experience.”

As WOUB prepares for Gridiron’s 25th season, Adeyanju says it’s great that the show is still going strong.

“I feel old,” said Adeyanju with a chuckle. “But it’s good because you always want to leave things the way you found them. It’s a great thing for the community for sure.”