Give us just a little bit of background about where you came from and how you got into broadcasting.
Well, my parents went to Baylor, and that’s how I knew about Baylor. My dad was a religion major. He graduated in 1958. He then went to Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and I was born a year later in Louisville.
So, I grew up in Kentucky. When I graduated high school, or was getting close, I knew about Baylor and came down and visited and just loved it. I ended up coming to school here and never left. I was interested in broadcasting, majored in Radio TV at the time and got a job at Channel 10 before I’d even graduated, then worked at KDBTX for 15 years. In 1987 I started working with Frank Fallon, which was the best learning experience anybody could ever hope for. Then when Frank retired in 1995, I followed him. I’ll never say I replaced Frank Fallon. That’s never going to happen. But, I followed him in this job. So, that’s sort of the short version of how that all happened.
Frank Fallon was a legend. What did you learn from him? What did you take away from being under his mentorship?
Frank was so professional in everything that he did, the way he delivered the broadcast. But then off the air, he was so professional also. That was one thing I learned from him. I learned about preparation from him. He was always so keenly prepared in everything that he did. I learned how important that is.
Do you remember your first time on the air, and what that moment was like for you?
The first game in football working with Frank was 1987, the season opener against Louisiana Tech. I was just nervous as could be. This was Mr. Fallon. This was Frank Fallon. The thing I had to get over first was calling him Mr. Fallon on the air. He kept saying, “Call me Frank,” and I just had so much respect for him that I had a hard time getting past that. So, that was the first game. He was doing play by play, obviously, and I was doing color, and I don’t think I was greatly suited to do color analysis. He said, “You’re another set of eyes up here. Just talk about what you see.” He was very nurturing to me back then.
But, the first Baylor game I actually did was 1984. Frank was doing Southwest Conference TV games, and if there was a conflict with a Baylor game on Saturday basketball, he would ask me to do the basketball games. So, the first Baylor game professionally, really, that I ever did was December of ‘84. Baylor versus Vanderbilt in the Heart of Texas Coliseum. C.M. Newton was the coach for Vanderbilt and Jim Haller was the coach at Baylor, and so I got to fill in for Frank.
You talked a little bit about learning how to prepare. How do you prepare for a game?
It’s different for different sports. For football, you’ve got all week to prepare for one game. So, you’ve got a lot of time to get ready. Of course, there are more players to get to know and learn about, and more stats to digest over the course of the week. But, we get lots of stuff given to us – releases from Baylor, news releases for whoever we’re playing against, and then Big 12 Conference information. I’ll do a spotting board of offense and defense, two or three deep on each side for both Baylor and whoever we’re playing, and then watch some game tape, or previous televised games, and that helps me to get comfortable with the players.
Is it hard for you to believe you’ve been doing this for 32 years, or does it feel like it’s been that long?
No, it doesn’t at all. It really doesn’t. When you say that, that seems like a long time. But, I think I just take it game by game. Eight of those years were with Frank. So, eight years doing color, and then 24 years doing play by play following Frank. So, it really doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. I’ve got a picture on my shelf of the first year Frank and I worked together. Greg Harper was our engineer, and Jerry Clemmons was our producer. I look at that and I think, “Yeah, look at that guy.” That has been awhile.
In those 32 years, is there one call that stands out above the rest?
I’d be hard pressed to pick one. There are several that are really top of mind. When we beat A&M in football in 2004, we hadn’t beaten them in 19 years. They were ranked, we were not, and we beat them in overtime at the Floyd Casey Stadium. The call of that game, J.J. Joe and I, it was the worst call ever because we just kind of screamed. But Baylor people, I think, knew something good had happened.
Whenever we beat Kansas in basketball, those are just big, big wins. This past year we beat Texas coming from 19 down. That’s a huge win, and the way the team played this year in basketball after all the injuries that they had gone through, that was big. Baseball, we did a regional at Rice one time where we trailed by nine runs and came back to win the game. Games like that stick in my mind as really exciting finishes, and it sure was fun to have a great seat like I had for those.
On the flip side of that, is there a call, or a gaffe that you’ve made over these years where you’re like, “Oh man, that was embarrassing.”
Yeah, too many to count, too many to count. But then, you make a mistake, correct it, and then move on. So, I don’t dwell on that. But, there’ve been a bunch of those through the years also.
I’ve always wondered if people hear you talking in public and recognize you by your voice.
It does happen, and I take it as a compliment. I mean, that means they’re listening to our games. If I’m sitting at a table and somebody overhears a conversation, you can see them leaning in and listening and say, “I thought that was you.” So, it’s very nice. It is a compliment.
Funny thing, one time Frank and I were working together at a track meet, a Baylor Invitational, and we had a break. We walked up to the concession stand to get something, and he and I were just talking at the concession stand, and the guy said, “You guys just keep on talking. It’s like I’m listening to my own personal radio.” So, it was a compliment that somebody would say that.
Well, you have a distinct voice, which is a good thing for your profession. Do you ever get people on the opposite side, or even Baylor fans, that give you trouble?
Apparently that’s out there, and I don’t pay any attention to it. I just do the best job that I can, and try to serve the Baylor family the best that I can. It is interesting that when football was down for a few years, we got a lot of complaints about our broadcast. I say a lot, but there were some complaints about our broadcast. And then all of a sudden we started winning, and we’re winning Big 12 championships, and people are saying, “Yeah, y’all do a great job. Everything’s great.”
And that’s not to say I do a perfect job every time out. I can always do better. I think if you’re in broadcasting, it’s just part of the job that there’s going to be some people that like you and there’s some people that aren’t going to like you or your style. I think that’s just part of it.
I know for me growing up as a Baylor fan, it’s almost impossible to separate Baylor sports from your voice. Even hearing you now is like a flood of memories of going to Baylor games as a kid.
Well, in broadcasting I think continuity and longevity mean a lot. I think for people who grow up listening to a person, then they hear them later, it’s a tie to the university. Maybe some people don’t even live in Waco, and they come back and they hear our broadcast and it brings them home, hopefully. So, we’re very aware of that
What do you think is the most rewarding part of your job?
I love broadcasting, and I would love broadcasting anywhere. But, to do it for your school, to do it for Baylor, is just special. It really is. Because I’ve been around here a long time, from when I started as a freshman in 1977. I’ve been around Baylor that whole time. So, hopefully I’ve got some perspective through the years of just knowing the Baylor way, the Baylor culture, and knowing the Baylor family and our fans, and hearing from them. Hopefully that pays off in broadcasts. So, if I say, “This is a big win,” or “This is a big series coming up,” there’s a little bit of perspective behind that. I get excited just like Baylor fans do.
What do you think about the football team this year? What are your thoughts about how we’re going to do?
I love what Coach Rhule and his staff have done to improve by six wins from his first season to his second season. It’s just a huge jump. No school in the country made a bigger jump than Baylor did last year, and if we improve by six more, we’ll be playing the Big 12 Championship.
But, just to see the way he has set the foundation for the program so quickly, and had success so quickly, from one win to seven wins in two years, and now going into year three. I think that we are going to be right there in the top half, maybe top third of the Big 12, and I think the goals are to play for Big 12 championships, and eventually get into the college football playoffs.
I like the way our coaches think, and the way they have instilled that in the players. So, I think we’re in for another really, really good year.
