Quiet on the set.

Iowa State students now have a chance to audition for a new nationwide sports television show.

“Sports 180/80,” a sports magazine idea show which will be broadcast out of Des Moines, is geared toward teenagers.

James Albert, a professor of law at Drake University and the executive producer of the show, said the goal of the show is to make it a “high energy, alive, colorful and positive show.”

The show is to be a prototype program of the educational programming for teenagers that broadcast stations will now have to air under the new Federal Communication Commission rules, Albert said.

He said they are looking for students who are athletic, knowledgeable about sports, articulate and photogenic.

He said he hopes ISU will be the only place he will look for talent. He does not want to spend several months looking for talent at other universities.

“I’m very optimistic that we’ll find some excellent talent at Iowa State,” Albert said.

He also said Iowa State has a strong journalism department and a strong athletic department.

The casting call will take place today from 3 to 5 p.m. in the television lab located in the basement of Hamilton Hall.

The creators of “Sports 180/80” are looking to cast several talented students. This way it would be possible for the show to tape several segments at one time.

The decision to produce a pilot began when the creators devoted an entire year to teenage focus groups. The focus groups, consisting of over 2,000 teenage students, were surveyed in depth about what they would like to see in a show such as “Sports 180/80.”

During the year, ideas were bounced off a rotating focus group of 15 teenagers. These teenagers represented a demographic of young viewers.

They met twice a month for a total of 10 months to give opinions on the segment ideas, reporters, anchors, as well as tapes of similar shows from around the country.

These focus groups formulated many angles to “Sports 180/80” which are planned for the show, including an interview with former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, a girl’s swimming segment, an extreme-sports segment and an investigative series.

Tom Beell, professor of journalism and mass communication, encourages students to audition for the show. Beell has helped Albert get the word out around the ISU campus.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have the counsel of many people and the willing help of hundreds of teenagers around the country who have taken the challenge to create their own program,” Albert said.