Marshall Ferguson (born June 15, 1991) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
radio and television personality, sports broadcaster and former
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. Ferguson is currently a host and
play-by-play announcer
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
for
The Sports Network
The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...
(TSN) in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
.
Football career
Ferguson was recruited as a
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
from a variety of
OUA
Oua is an islet on the north-east of Nukufetau atoll, Tuvalu, next to Lafanga atoll.
References
Islands of Tuvalu
Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act
Nukufetau
{{tuvalu-geo-stub ...
schools following his senior year at
Frontenac Secondary School
Frontenac Secondary School is a high school in the west-end of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Limestone District School Board. Its sports teams play under the nickname "Frontenac Falcons".
History
Frontenac Secondary School was found ...
in
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
. After committing to
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
and the
Marauders, he sat for three years behind 2012
Hec Crighton Trophy
The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after the late Hec Crighton - teacher, coach, referee, and author of th ...
winner and incumbent starting quarterback,
Kyle Quinlan
Kyle Quinlan (born February 10, 1989) is a former college football quarterback and formerly the co- offensive coordinator for the McMaster Marauders in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports football. He played collegiately with t ...
. However, in 2011, when Quinlan served a three-game suspension following an on campus incident, Ferguson became the temporary starting quarterback. As a 2nd year, Ferguson and the Marauders won all three games after defeating the
Windsor Lancers
The Windsor Lancers are the varsity athletic teams that represent the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The school's varsity program supports 9 different sports. Their mascot is a lancer and the team's colours are blue and gold. ...
, the
Guelph Gryphons
The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...
, and finally the
Waterloo Warriors
The Waterloo Warriors are the athletic teams that represent the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The Warriors have found success over certain spans in football, hockey, rugby, golf and basketball among others, and the Warrior ...
in McMaster's 2011 homecoming game.
As a starter in 2013, Ferguson set the McMaster school record for pass attempts in a season (314) pass completions in a season (199) and passing touchdowns in a season (21). That season McMaster would lose 32-3 against the Western Mustangs in the OUA semifinals. In his last season at McMaster, in 2014, Ferguson helped the Marauders to a 7-1 regular season record before winning the
Yates Cup
The Yates Cup (french: La Coupe Yates) is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back ...
,
Mitchell Bowl
The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this game ...
, and nearly winning the
Vanier Cup
The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...
.
Ferguson finished his career at McMaster placing in the school record books second in career pass attempts (765), second in career pass completions (493), first in career completion percentage (64.4%), and third in career passing touchdowns (49). Ferguson joins McMaster teammates Ben O'Connor and Steven Ventresca as the only Marauders to play in 57 games for the school due to their Vanier Cup runs in 2011, 2012, and 2014.
Broadcasting career
Prior to his work with
TSN, Ferguson worked as sports director of CFMU 93.3
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
radio. There, Ferguson created "OUA Today", a weekly podcast covering Ontario University Athletics. He also broadcast McMaster University men's and women's basketball while completing his career as the Marauders starting quarterback on the football team.
In September of 2015, Ferguson was announced as the
TSN 1150
CKOC (1150 AM) is a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a business news format. CKOC is a 50,000-watt, Class B station operating on a Regional (not clear-channel) broadcast frequency, with transmitters located ...
Hamilton afternoon drive co-host with
Hamilton Spectator
''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar.
History
''The Hami ...
columnist, Steve Milton. The show aptly named "Marsh and Milton" was the first of its kind for TSN 1150 Hamilton's local programming. During that first year on the air, Ferguson also served as the play-by-play voice of the McMaster Marauders on TSN 1150 as well as hosting the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
pregame and postgame shows while reporting from the sideline in game. On May 16, 2016, Ferguson was promoted to lead play-by-play commentator for the Tiger-Cats.
One year after TSN 1150 Hamilton launched, Steve Milton left the show and Ferguson teamed up with Hamilton native and well known broadcaster Jim Tatti to form 'Tatti and Marsh' airing weekdays 3-7pm before making the move to mornings with Hamilton's Kyle Melo to form "Marsh and Melo" heard weekdays 6-9am on TSN 1150 Hamilton. Ferguson was not retained when the Tiger-Cats reclaimed their radio rights in 2021.
Ferguson has also contributed to the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
's website on various platforms including his role as lead analyst on both the CFL playoffs and the
CFL draft
The CFL Draft (also known as the CFL Canadian Draft, CFL College Draft or the Canadian College Draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian Football League#Players and compensat ...
. In 2021, he joined TSN as a play-by-play announcer and called several games throughout the 2021 season.
References
External links
TSN profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Marshall
1991 births
Living people
Canadian football quarterbacks
Canadian radio sportscasters
Canadian sports announcers
McMaster Marauders football players