Noah Godsell ’24 Brings His Love For Valpo Athletics To WVUR-FM

How many of you watched a football game from the bleachers this season – or cheered on our Beacons from the student section at a basketball game? If you have, you probably recognize Noah Godsell ’24, who made it his personal mission to go to as many Valpo sporting events as possible since his freshman year. Between his general love for sports and serving as sports director for WVUR-FM, The Source – Valpo’s student-run radio station – it just makes sense. After all, Noah doesn’t view watching sports as just a pastime; to him, sports are an experience.

For as long as Noah can remember, he gravitated toward sports and fan culture. “Even when I was little, I loved the atmosphere of sports. My parents could tell you – I used to throw a ball up in the air in the driveway and then chase it back down, making crowd noises… That’s always been me and what I’ve loved. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t thinking about sports in some way,” Noah says. He’s all about anything where you can keep score and compete, and has tried every sport under the sun, from basketball to cricket. “I think people can look at sports and think, ‘Oh, it’s just a game’ and stuff like that. But, it really is more than a game to a lot of people. It’s something that’s been part of my life for a long time,” he says.

While scoreboards bring energy and community to sports arenas across the globe, Noah’s ultimate goal is to utilize skills from his digital media major to turn each sports game into an experience fans will never forget. “Something I really want to focus on in my career is marketing and fan engagement. For me, personally, sports have been a great way for me to sort of release everything else that’s going on in my life and just enjoy the game with friends and family. I feel like there’s nothing better than an incredible atmosphere in a sports stadium. And I think being able to help build that is something I’d really like to do,” Noah shares. He references going to Milwaukee Bucks games when he was younger, and the memorable Famous Racing Sausages® at Milwaukee Brewers games that he thinks back to even now. “I want to encourage people to get excited and involved and maybe yell a little bit… All in the name of friendly competition,” he says.

Despite not being a student-athlete himself, this passion for the meaning behind sports is what ultimately brought Noah to Valpo. Before he had even fully decided on committing to Valpo, he and his mom had an hour-long conversation with communications lecturer Paul Oren, the founder and editor of The Victory Bell. “It was a telling experience; every single person I was in contact with from Valpo, Paul included, was super genuine and really wanted to talk with me about me instead of just saying, ‘Okay, what do you want to know?’” Noah says. “Paul told me all about the radio station and how I could channel my love for sports into sports broadcasting and call games and be involved… It sounded awesome. It’s a big reason why I came to Valpo.”

After an impactful campus visit and a hand-written letter from WVUR’s sports director at the time, Garrett Willis ’22, Noah knew Valpo was where he could take his first step. He got involved in WVUR during his first week on campus. During his first semester, he started his sports talk show “The Extra Point” – which he’s continued to air year after year – and became the radio’s sports director when he was a sophomore. “I didn’t have any experience doing radio, sports broadcasting, or anything like that coming into college, and now I feel like a seasoned vet,” Noah says, “It’s something that I never even imagined I’d be involved in when I went to college.”

The talk show itself has been a fan-favorite and serves as a testament to all that WVUR offers students regardless of their area of study. “The radio station is your oyster. You can talk about whatever you want. There have been times when we go on a fifteen-minute rant about our favorite fast-food restaurants, and that’s not even about sports. But it’s a part of the personality and just being on the station,” Noah says. “There’s a good mix. It’s been a tradition every week to have my sports talk show, talk about something crazy that’s happening, go on rants, get ‘mad’ because a certain thing happened… There’s been so many funny moments that have happened on the show,” he shares.

And shows are just the beginning. As WVUR’s sports director, Noah makes sure there is always someone calling games, the broadcasts are switched on and off, commercials are being played, and that all equipment is working properly, while also creating spot charts for flawless, smooth game coverage in real-time. Sometimes, he even accompanies Valpo’s athletic teams on the road to do coverage at away games – media pass and courtside seat included – and serves on the scout team for the Valpo women’s basketball team. It’s a sports-lover’s dream and one that’s not to be sidelined. “People don’t always realize the preparation that goes into a successful broadcast. It can easily take three or four hours just to prepare for the game. But it’s always worth it in the end, because that’s what it takes to have a high-quality show,” Noah says. The reputation of being Valpo’s go-to sports expert is a bonus. “It’s been super fun being at the games, talking about the games, and just being in the know about what’s going on at Valpo. When the men’s basketball team hired Coach Roger Powell Jr. [’16 M.S.], specifically, excitement and interest skyrocketed – and people came to me for answers to their questions and for anything they wanted to know because they recognized me from every single game and talked about it on the radio. It’s a fun reputation to have and just be a part of the community,” he shares.

Even when Noah is at a sporting event for WVUR, he’s also there as a spectator. “When I played sports, I loved when people I knew came out and cheered us on. A lot of student-athletes feel that way… It takes a lot to be a Division I athlete, and I like being able to give that to people, no matter what the scoreboard says. I love supporting my [university],” he says. “When the soccer team went to the NCAA tournament against the University of Notre Dame, there were more Valpo fans there than there were Notre Dame fans – at Notre Dame. It’s probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen here. Another great moment was when our volleyball team made it to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, and the student section was overflowing. It’s always great to see that support,” he shares.

Aside from Noah’s dedication to Valpo Athletics through WVUR, his involvement in the sports industry was furthered by his pre-graduation experience with ESPN. He was hired with no previous experience but was able to jump right in on day one. “I was able to work on hands-on sports broadcasts as soon as my first shift,” Noah says. “I worked as a cameraman from all positions in the arena, helped out at the scorers’ table with the replay system, and also have gotten opportunities to be a sideline reporter for basketball games and as a play-by-play announcer for a couple of soccer games,” he shares. Talk about a stacked resume!

It’s easy to say that Noah will be sorely missed by WVUR, his fraternity brothers in Sigma Phi Epsilon, Valpo’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Hooked On Tonics – the campus acapella group – and the rest of our community once he moves into a sports career after Commencement. But even as Noah is ready to take his next big step, he’s leaving behind a legacy we’ll all be able to follow for years to come. He will be stepping down as host of “The Extra Point” in May and his co-host Jack Hutter ’26 will be taking over for the foreseeable future. Fans can listen on 95.1 within a six-mile radius of the University or on the Tune In app on Fridays at 3 p.m. for the rest of the semester.