BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Every weekday from 3-6 p.m. on 1170 KPUG, Allan Fee and Jason Upton talk all things sports in the northwest on The Zone.
From up-to-date Mariners news to off-season Seahawks moves to in-depth conversations about Whatcom County prep sports, the duo keeps the show fresh and timely with the ever-evolving sports landscape.
For Fee, talking sports has been his lifelong passion. He started at 16 years old while attending Sehome High School, regularly calling in to the station to give his take on the games being played by the school’s teams. He then moved through the ranks at the station on Yew Street Road, broadcasting on the afternoon sports show on KGMI before becoming a morning show host and program director for KISM.
Fee’s career took him to several different markets across the country, including Chicago, St. Louis and Cleveland. He returned to the Pacific Northwest to join the morning show on WARM 106.9 in Seattle before returning to Bellingham, where he started his career. He now hosts KAFE This Morning with Dave Walker and Patrice Valentine.
Upton’s role on The Zone is his first in the sports broadcasting world, having graduated from Western Washington University in 2023. He began working the phones for the late Mark Scholten and still works as a news producer/host on KGMI.
When Mark Scholten passed away in August 2023, Fee stepped up to take over the afternoon sports show and brought Upton along with him. In September of that year, Fee and Upton began taking the reins of the show to pay their respects to the late broadcaster and reshape the show’s layout.
Since then, the duo has kept the spirit of The Zone alive in more ways than one.
KPUG debuted a new roadshow called “Friday Night Lights” in the fall of 2024 which showcases the world of Whatcom County prep football. Fee and Upton knew how much their listeners followed these teams, so they took the show to the listeners’ turf.
“I got into sports because I love the NBA and the NFL,” Upton said. “What I realized is it’s really fun to embed yourself in the local sports scene and those storylines we all love on the national level from pro sports all carry down to local levels.”
But when Fee and Upton are out at these events and broadcasting alongside the coaches or players from the local teams, they feed off the energy and passion those individuals bring to the table.
“We interview them like how we would interview Mike Macdonald from the Seahawks,” Fee said. “We want it to sound that way to give them a voice.”
Listeners consistently call the studio line to share their thoughts on the subject of the show, and Fee says some of the listeners know more than he does.
“I would say half the people who call this show are much smarter than the people hosting the show and they should probably be hosting the show,” Fee said.
Fee and Upton are not stopping anytime soon, with coverage of the Bellingham Bells starting in the next few weeks and the Mariners’ season underway.
To listen to The Zone or any of the programming on KPUG, head to their website at kpug1170.com or by downloading the My Bellingham Now app.
We Are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.
