New Paltz Sports Network Welcomes New Host Lola Konopa

The New Paltz Sports Network — a 30-minute WFNP broadcast dedicated to Hawk athletes coverage — welcomed a new host for the spring semester who’s bringing her own spin to the burgeoning series.

Started in the Fall 2024 semester, the New Paltz Sports Network features game updates and recaps, weekly athlete interviews, season highlights and additional happenings in the Athletics Department. Lola Konopa, a second-year journalism and digital media productions major, who plays middle hitter on the women’s volleyball team, has taken over after the show’s previous host, Michael Ascanio, had to step down upon entering his baseball team’s season. She was approached by the Athletics Department towards the end of the fall semester with the proposition and soon landed in the host seat.

For Konopa, who did not have prior broadcasting or radio experience before, it was a completely new experience. Her biggest challenges were twofold: managing the editing processes for the Hawks’ social media accounts and getting into a rhythm for writing scripts, which Konopa said has, “been a learning curve, but it definitely gets easier with experience.” Five episodes have been produced so far, each featuring different student-athletes from basketball and volleyball, with more athletes from different teams soon to come.

Each segment features a guest athlete, selected from the Athletics Department’s Athlete of the Week. To prepare, Konopa invests a lengthy amount of research into the players’ stats, games and other important details. As a Division III athlete herself, she is able to orient herself in the headspace of the interviewees. “I kind of think of it as a point like, ‘What would I want to talk about if somebody was asking me questions?’”

In addition to generating questions of her own, Konopa also has a new segment titled, “What the People Wanna Know,” where people submit their own questions to the @nphawks Instagram page, offering a different interactive experience for fans by getting them more engaged and bringing them in as part of the broadcast. Segments like these are part of Konopa’s new spin on the broadcast, playing with the structure and trying new things.

“It was kind of daunting to step into the role at first. I want to continue what [Ascanio] had, since he did a great job, but I also do want to add a little bit of Lola into it,” she said. As WFNP’s current sports broadcast, the New Paltz Sports Network’s goal is to promote New Paltz athletics, highlighting the teams’ achievements and having student-athlete interviews.

Reflecting on her position thus far, Konopa expressed how this experience has boosted her interview and question-making skills, additionally allowing her to “engage with other athletes that I don’t really get to speak to on a day-to-day basis.” She is looking forward to what the future holds for the broadcast.

Viewers can tune into the New Paltz Sports Network Monday evenings from 7:30 to 8 p.m. on 88.7 FM, at wfnp.org or the next day on the Hawks’ YouTube channel @NewPaltzHawks.