Marion School District - Engage. Empower. Excel.

The Marion Patriots Activities Network (MPAN) earned some acclaim over the past four years when it won four national awards for broadcasts of events at the Marion School District, ranging from athletics to graduation and other extracurricular events.

And in 2024-2025, MPAN did it again.

MPAN earned Mascot Media's Best Sports Network for a single school, an honor selected by an unbiased panel of judges.

Mascot Media was established in 1995 and services almost 2,000 schools in 18 states across the country.

MPAN's fifth Mascot Media award since the 2020-2021 school year began marks the third Best Sports Network (2021, 2022, and 2025), and twice earned Mascot Media's coveted Best School-Run Broadcast Team (2021 and 2022).

Marion School District Communication Specialists Tyler Bennett and Chuck Livingston, and MSD Director of Communications Andy Weld, oversee MPAN, but the company had plenty of help over the school year.

We are extremely pleased to have our work once again recognized with another national award, but we are quick to acknowledge that none of this would be possible without the amazing support we receive. We are thankful that our school board, administrators, and all of Patriot Nation support and encourage our efforts as we strive to give our Patriot students and student-athletes the national spotlight that they deserve.

“Every year, I'm surprised by how passionate our community is supporting our students, but by now I shouldn't be,” said Livingston. “Our people love to keep up with what's going on in town. They remember important moments, and they're happy to help you however they can. To live in a place that cares so much about the school, the people who work there, and the kids is really special and incredibly rare.”

MPAN recently rolled out a new website, www.msd3.org/o/mpan, where you can keep up with Marion's activities and broadcasts all year long.

You can also visit MPAN's interactive and all-encompassing site by visiting MSD's main site at msd.org, then clicking the MPAN button at the top of the page.

Marion's Patriot Partner ads were viewed more than four times per broadcast on average, with platinum members topping five times on most days.

For more information about Marion's Patriot Partner program, feel free to reach out to Marion athletic director David Lara (Dlara@msd3.org), or communication specialists Tyler Bennett (TYBennett@msd3.org) or Chuck Livingston (Clivingston@msd3.org).

Marion Junior High principal Jonathan Crymes reprised his role as MPAN's crack color commentator this year, offering his expertise for football and basketball broadcasts after years of coaching.

MPAN got a huge lift from 2025 graduates Marselo Amaya, Micah Charlton, Eryn Edwards, Nia Prude, Nadiyah Robinson, Rhealee Tacito, and Journee Thomas, who volunteered faithfully over the past two years, running cameras and taking photos.

“This whole thing is only as good as the people you work with,” said Chuck Livingston. “Those folks went above and beyond to make sure that our coverage was as good as it could possibly be. The kids had a tremendous ability and wanted to perfect their craft. Mr. Crymes has so much knowledge and just loves talking about ball that he was a natural from the time he joined us.”

MPAN broadcasts reached almost 100,000 viewers this past year, a 10 percent jump from the total viewership of 2023-2024.

An average of more than 2,000 viewers per week tuned into Patriot football's 2024 season, including 3,000-viewer dates on October 4 at El Dorado, October 18 at Jonesboro, and November 15's playoff contest against Van Buren. Every Marion football game had at least 1,984 viewers, including the benefit scrimmage game at Valley View.

Almost 400 people tuned in per game to see Patriot volleyball repeat as 5A East champions last fall. Five Marion volleyball contests eclipsed 500 viewers, including an August 29 home date with Greene County Tech, a September 16 showdown with Valley View, September 23's road date at Mountain Home, October 15's Senior Night contest against West Memphis, and a state playoff game at Van Buren.

When basketball tipped off in the winter, MPAN's followers turned their attention to the local teams, who each won 20 games in 24-'25.

More than 34,000 fans viewed MPAN's 27 unique broadcasts last year, including 16 boy/girl doubleheaders in conference play.

Patriot hoops attracted more than 1,000 viewers 15 times throughout the season, including a season-high 3,335 viewers for a boys semifinal game on March 7 against Benton, 2,618 for the boys opening-round state tournament game against El Dorado, 2,794 viewers for a crucial Senior Night date on February 25 against Valley View, and 2,377 people tuned in for a January 31 home game against Greene County Tech.

MPAN remained relevant in the spring as Marion's baseball and softball teams made runs to the state tournament.

Marion baseball brought in 11,880 viewers this spring, with five broadcasts topping 1,000 viewers, including the benefit scrimmage broadcast on March 1, and March's 10's non-conference tilt at Collierville, Tennessee. Almost 1,200 fans tuned in for Marion's first state tournament game against Lake Hamilton, with 1,944 watching the quarterfinal contest against Van Buren. A Saturday semifinal game against Beebe attracted 1,288 viewers, while an audio-only broadcast of the Class 5A state final against Valley View from Conway was heard by 2,907 fans.

Patriot softball was received by more than 8,000 fans in 2025, with more than 700 people tuning in for the Valley View doubleheader on April 1. April 22's 5A East double-dip at West Memphis found its way onto 688 devices and televisions, while April 29's league road trip to Batesville was watched by 557 people. May 5's de facto league championship series against Greene County Tech was viewed by 744 people, with 786 people tuning in for May 15's state tournament game against Texarkana.

May 17's graduation ceremony was viewed by 2,218 people.