Finding a voice: Ethan Schmidt’s journey from APSU student to professor

By: Ethan Steinquest September 9, 2024

Ethan Schmidt, APSU visiting professor of communication, engages students in a public speaking class with an interactive activity. | Photo by Ally Shemwell

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - From the sidelines of Clarksville High School’s football field to the broadcast booth at Austin Peay State University, Ethan Schmidt has always had a gift for public speaking.

This semester, he’s returning to his roots as a visiting professor in Austin Peay’s Department of Communication after working as an adjunct professor since 2017.

“I want to help grow our communication and sports broadcasting programs because they mean so much to me,” said Schmidt, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Austin Peay. “I call all the Austin Peay games on ESPN+, so I’m still very involved with athletics, and I want others to experience what it’s like to do those kinds of things and find their niche in life.”

Schmidt is teaching classes on public speaking, sports communication, and the media industry’s social influence. With firsthand experience in the COMM program, he is excited to mentor the next generation of Govs.

Getting started in broadcasting

APSU alumni Ethan Schmidt and Josh Stephenson deliver a newscast on WAPX-FM while attending the university as undergraduate students.

“What originally brought me to Austin Peay was that it’s close to home, and there’s no better chant than ‘Let’s Go Peay!’” he said. “It was somewhere I could get a great college experience and education in a place that felt like home.”

Schmidt originally planned to earn a law degree and start a firm with his older brother, but the late professor John Moseley encouraged him to follow his passion for sports broadcasting.

“At 18, I got on the radio for the first time to call football [at Clarksville High School],” Schmidt said. “One of my favorite things was seeing different places and the electrifying feeling of calling a big play like a breakaway touchdown or a huge sack. That energized me as a human being.”

Schmidt joined the communications program after a semester, and by his sophomore year, he began calling women’s basketball and co-hosting a weekly newscast on WAPX-FM, Austin Peay’s campus radio station.

“It was one of those things where I always felt the department trusted me,” he said. “The opportunities were there, but it was more impactful that they were willing to give me a shot, and I took that to heart.”

Along the way, Schmidt joined the Student Government Association, Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Broadcast Society, and Alpha Tau Omega.

Mastering new skills

Schmidt credits his time at Austin Peay with teaching him to balance his responsibilities and adapt, which helped him succeed in graduate school.

“I was calling games and working behind the scenes as a technical director and producer,” he said. “I was Dr. Mike Gotcher’s graduate assistant, and my responsibility was basically ‘whoever needs you, go there.’ Sometimes that was frustrating, but everyone there was ultimately building me up into the person I became.”

Those experiences eventually allowed Schmidt to forge a distinct path as a sports broadcaster, educator, and football coach.

“I learned a lot about myself and what I can process, physically and mentally,” he said. “In my last semester on campus, I was taking courses, working as a graduate assistant, and teaching a public speaking course.”

Teaching left a particularly strong impression on Schmidt, who has taught a public speaking course at Austin Peay almost every semester since 2017. He focuses on creating an environment that helps students overcome any stresses about the class.

“Lots of people are nervous about public speaking, but it’s one of my favorite courses,” he said. “I like to have fun and do things differently. Last semester, I implemented a group project based on a TV show called ‘The Traitors,’ where 24 celebrities are put in a house with three ‘traitors.’ You have to decide who they are each week and vote them out, like Mafia.”

Excellence on the air

Ethan Schmidt, an APSU visiting professor of communication, worked as a sports anchor for KODE-TV in Joplin, Missouri as part of his broadcasting career.

Schmidt continued to innovate in the classroom while working as a sports anchor and reporter for TV stations in Michigan and Missouri. He was inspired to enter broadcasting because not many Austin Peay alumni were in the field at the time, and he began teaching online classes a few years later.

“I felt like I could be a flag-bearer for the university and show people what was possible,” he said. “You don’t have to go to a huge journalism school like Syracuse or the University of Missouri. You can go to Austin Peay, learn how I learned, and step out and be on television.”

During his time as a sports broadcaster, Schmidt witnessed countless memorable moments, from championship games to training camps.

“The coolest thing I got to do [in broadcasting] was cover the AFC Championships during the last year Tom Brady was with the Patriots,” he said. “The year before the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl, I was there as a sports journalist … and I was at a Packers training camp for two years. I got to cover some phenomenal athletes, one of whom was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft last year.”

Reconnecting with Clarksville

Ethan Schmidt, an APSU visiting professor of communication, also works with Clarksville High School students as the football program’s wide receivers coach.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on sports led Schmidt and his wife to move back to Clarksville in 2020. He became the wide receivers coach for Clarksville High School’s football team and helped achieve the program’s third regional championship win.

“[One helpful thing about coaching] was learning how to deal with students again because I was online for so long,” said Schmidt, who also handles the team’s web and social media content. “You’re out of touch when you’re not on campus, so spending a year coaching kids heading toward college and understanding their mindsets set me up to talk to students in the classroom.”

Schmidt soon returned to the classroom and the broadcast booth, becoming a recognizable voice for Austin Peay sports fans.

“One of the things I loved about doing television was that the community recognized me and would talk to me about the programs I covered,” he said. “Now I’m back in that seat where people remember me and ask what I’m thinking, and if somebody asks me what my favorite college sports team is, it’s always Austin Peay.”

Throughout Schmidt’s journey, Austin Peay has been more than a workplace or alma mater - it’s a second home.

“I always feel at home at Austin Peay, whether I’m in a classroom, an arena, or a meeting,” he said. “I met my wife here, and this school has been a huge part of who I am. Coming back after a pandemic when the world seemed bleak, the light and hope for me was always that Austin Peay was here.”