New Castle’s Steve Auten to receive IHSAA Media Service Award

by | Jan 9, 2019 | Headlines, RRSN News | 0 comments

New Castle’s Steve Auten to receive IHSAA Media Service Award
The long‐time “Voice of the Trojans” of WMDH/WLTI Radio in New Castle, Steve Auten is this year’s recipient
of the IHSAA’s Distinguished Media Service Award in District 2.
Auten’s contributions to education‐based athletics will be recognized this week when Commissioner Bobby Cox
and Sports Information Director Jason Wille make the presentation.
While known primarily for broadcasting New Castle boys and
girls basketball and football games, Auten also broadcast the
school’s baseball and softball games in spring as well. In the
event Trojan teams were eliminated from state tournament
competition, Auten would often call games for nearby schools
Shenandoah, Tri, Knightstown and Blue River Valley if their
teams were making runs in the tournament.
For 20 years, he also hosted a Saturday morning show “Sport
Corner” featuring all Henry County coaches during football and
basketball seasons and “Sports Beat”, a Monday night program
spotlighting student‐athletes from area schools in other sports.
With more than 1,500 broadcasts to his credit between 1988
and 2016, Auten was behind the microphone for more
broadcasts than any announcer in Henry County sports history.
Auten’s career actually began in nearby Knightstown where he
served as a teacher and coach for high school and junior high
baseball and a varsity assistant football coach under Hall of Fame
coach Don Willard.
After a stint as a teacher and coach at Westmer High School in Joy, Illinois, Auten eventually returned home to
New Castle and continued to support youth sports by coaching in the community’s Babe Ruth League for 19
years including managing the league’s 1980 13‐year‐old state championship team. In 1988, the local radio
station approached him about doing color commentary for New Castle games launching his journey in radio.
Auten is the second New Castle resident to receive this award joining the late John Hodge, former sports editor
of the New Castle Courier-Times, who was honored in 2000‐01. Auten and Hodge were good friends for many
years.
This is the 34th year the IHSAA has recognized outstanding members of the Indiana news media from each of
its three legislative districts for excellence in the coverage of high school sports. District 2 covers 28 counties
across northern and central Indiana. Award recipients are selected by members of the IHSAA Executive
Committee from nominations received from member school administrators.

Related Stories

Big 7th Inning Propels Boone Grove to Second State Championship

By Lewis Bagley, Special to IHSAA.org INDIANAPOLIS - Thanks to a five-run seventh inning, Boone Grove completed its mission. The Wolves of second-year coach Sean Riley broke from a 1-1 tie with that five-run outburst and claimed the Class 2A state championship with a...

58th annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals Preview

Rosters, statistics, season results and game notables for this weekend's 58th Annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals at Victory Field. News Release https://www.ihsaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-25%20Baseball%20Preview.pdf

58th Annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals

Friday, June 20 Class 1A State Championship 4:30 pm ET / 3:30 CT | Kouts (27-6) vs. Indianapolis Lutheran (20-10) Class 3A State Championship 8 pm ET / 7 CT | Andrean (30-3) vs. Jasper (28-6) Saturday, June 21 Class 2A State Championship 4:30 pm ET / 3:30 CT | Boone...

Cathedral withstands late rally to win first softball crown

By Lewis Bagley, Special to IHSAA.org WEST LAFAYETTE - Cathedral’s Anna Moore knew this was her time to come through for her team. Trailing Hanover Central, 2-1, in the fourth inning of the Class 3A championship game, Moore came to the plate with two on base. She...

Tecumseh wins sixth softball crown, first in Class 2A

By Lewis Bagley, Special to IHSAA.org WEST LAFAYETTE - Class 1A or 2A, it doesn’t seem to matter for the Tecumseh Braves. Coach Gordon Wood’s top-ranked squad claimed its second-straight and sixth state championship in program history with a 2-0 victory over No. 3...

Crown Point’s Liezert strikes out 16, Bulldogs win second crown

By Rich Torres, Special to IHSAA.org WEST LAFAYETTE – For some teams, a nearly 17-hour, overnight rain delay would derail anyone’s championship focus. For Class 4A Crown Point, Friday night’s postponement of the 40th annual IHSAA softball state finals into Saturday...

Rainford fans 17, North Newton secures first championship

By Will Willems, Special to IHSAA.org WEST LAFAYETTE - Sydney Rainford was on a mission. After three years of disappointing post-season results, Rainford knew this was her last chance to achieve the ultimate goal with her North Newton Spartan teammates of winning the...