More and More Buckeyes Finding Careers in Broadcasting
9/22/2023 11:00:00 AM | General
Opportunities abound for of Ohio State student-athletes to work in the broadcasting profession
COLUMBUS, Ohio – When former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry was announced as one of the new hosts of NBC's national college football studio coverage for this fall, it was met with great fanfare among Buckeye fans. Perry, who began his television broadcasting career locally at WBNS-TV and then as an in-game and studio analyst with BTN, had quickly risen up the ranks with his combination of intelligence and football acumen.
While the news of Perry's ascension was celebrated, it also wasn't surprising. And it marked yet another achievement for what is a growing fraternity of Ohio State Buckeye student-athletes in the broadcasting world. Across a variety of sports and mediums, including ABC/ESPN, FOX Sports, NBC Sports, Peacock, SiriusXM, Amazon Prime and an abundance of local media outlets, former Buckeyes are finding success on game day in a whole new way: behind a microphone, in front of a camera or both.
Right now, there are at least 35 former Ohio State student-athletes from nine different sports – baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, men's golf, men's and women's hockey, men's lacrosse and women's volleyball – working full-time or dabbling part-time in the broadcasting business.
No. 1 Voice for College Football
For many years, the sights and sounds of college football Saturday's have included the voices and faces of former Buckeyes. Kirk Herbstreit has become the No. 1 voice for college football through years of work on ABC-TV and ESPN's College Gameday, and since his arrival at the networks in 1996. His work at ESPN isn't just confined to the set of College Gameday: he is the game analyst for ESPN and ABC's biggest games, including Rose Bowl and national championship games. In fact, last season's Rose Bowl between Penn State and Utah was the 15th for which he was on the broadcast team. He is now tied with the great Keith Jackson for the most Rose Bowl games announced.
The radio station that Herbstreit got his start at – 97.1 FM The Fan – serves as the flagship station for Ohio State football and men's basketball. It's also the home on football Saturdays to the analysis of All-American offensive lineman Jim Lachey, who teams with Paul Keels in the announce booth. Lachey is in his 27th season announcing Buckeye football.
Former football stars Joey Galloway and Robert Smith have become trusted analysts/reporters nationally on ESPN and FOX, respectively. Locally, 97.1 The Fan's Ohio State coverage on Saturday's and throughout the fall includes the likes of Tyvis Powell, Jerry Rudzinski and Bobby Carpenter. Carpenter also co-hosts a morning show on 97.1 FM, appears on SiriusXM radio and is a contributor to Ohio State football coverage with national network, Rivals.
Powell, a starter on Ohio State's 2014 national championship team, has ascended rapidly in the business. In August he was hired by the Big Ten Network and now works as an analyst on its B1G Tailgate Show.
Other former football players who do regular weekly media appearances with WSYX-TV in the Columbus market are Ben Buchanan, Jay Richardson, Obie Stillwell and Justin Zwick. WCMH-TV counters with Chimdi Chekwa and Bill Conley as network analysts. WBNS-TV, the station that gave Herbstreit and others their TV start, utilizes Powell, Carpenter and DeVier Posey during the football season and basketball players George Reese, Rick Smith and Joey Lane through the winter basketball season.
Carpenter's teammate, AJ Hawk, serves as the co-host for the final two hours of The Pat McAfee Show on YouTube and is a guest host when McAfee is not available.
Jeff Logan, 1977 football team captain and all-Big Ten honoree, has been a long-time broadcaster and contributor with local stations and can be heard during the football season on 610 WTVN, along with Conley, and on the CW for high school coverage.
And Dustin Fox, a 2004 team captain and a starter on the 2002 national championship football team, is a game analyst across the ESPN networks and co-hosts a number of shows on Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan.
College Basketball's No. 1, As Well
When the games get bigger and the stakes higher during college basketball season, Clark Kellogg is always a trusted analyst and voice to be heard on CBS. He was a lead game analyst for the NCAA Tournament and Final Four for years and more recently as one of the network's anchors for its studio coverage.
All-American and 1992 National Player of the Year Jim Jackson has found his calling following a 14-year NBA career as a game and studio analyst on FS1. His travels, now as a game analyst for FOX Sports and Turner Sports, routinely involve covering the Buckeyes throughout the winter; last season, he was on the call for three Ohio State men's basketball games.
One guy that sees every Ohio State men's basketball game is former captain Ron Stokes, who teams with Keels on 97.1 The Fan. Stokes has been a basketball analyst for nearly 30 years and he is a valued and often-requested guest on other local radio shows throughout the winter.
Kristin, Caity, Tessa and Audrey
Stokes' counterparts for coverage of the women's basketball program on 1460 AM are alums and analysts Kristin Watt and Caity Matter Henniger. Watt helped led the Buckeyes to multiple Big Ten championships and Matter Henniger scored more than 1,500 points as a Buckeye and held the three-point record for over a decade.
Nick Swisher, who has the baseball field at Bill Davis Stadium named after him after his long and terrific collegiate and professional baseball career, is now in his second season working pre- and post-game baseball coverage with NBC Sports and Peacock.
Ohio State men's ice hockey games can be heard on AM 1460 and OhioStateBuckeyes.com with alums John Mowat and Brendon Kearney, while Buckeye baseball games include the analysis of former pitcher Bob Spears. Mowat was recognized by the program last year for announcing men's hockey games for 25 years. Spears is a former captain who played on four consecutive Big Ten regular season championship teams.
North of the border, women's hockey star Tessa Bonhomme, the 2008 WCHA Player of the Year and a two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist, is a broadcaster for Canada's TSN.
The start of the Big Ten Network in 2007 helped open the door for unprecedented Olympic sport television coverage. It also gave even more former student-athletes the opportunity to get behind the mic. Consider:
§ Former volleyball All-American, coach and 2005 Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Audrey (DiPronio) Flaugh is one of the leading voices of BTN's women's volleyball broadcasts;
§ Paul Caponigri handles the network's men's hockey studio and game coverage; and
§ Men's lacrosse games have increasingly included the work of two-time All-American and Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Greg Bice.
Got golf on? If so, you can hear on-course coverage on NBC and the Golf Channel from John Cook, a member of Ohio State's 1979 national championship team and a 21-time winner on the PGA and Senior tours.
And then … there's Phil Mattingly. This former baseball player and 2006 graduate started his career as a White House correspondent for CNN. In the past month he was promoted to host of CNN This Morning and he recently championed a mental health story on Harry Miller and the Ohio State Department of Athletics/football program.
It certainly helps that Ohio State University is located in one of the nation's Top 30 media markets, but there's no doubt: Ohio State's Buckeye broadcasters are a proud and fun bunch who make it known loud and clear that life after sport is good thing when you are a former Buckeye.
Buckeyes in Broadcasting
Name, Sport/Years – Network/Media Organization
§ Greg Bice, Lacrosse/2001-04 – BTN
§ Tessa Bonhomme, Hockey/2004-08 – TSN
§ Ben Buchanan, Football/2009-12 – WSYX-TV
§ Paul Caponigri, Hockey/2001-04 – BTN
§ Chimdi Chekwa, Football/2007-10 – WCMH-TV
§ Bill Conley, Football/1970-71 – WCMH-TV and 610 WTVN
§ John Cook, Golf/1977-79 – NBC Sports and The Golf Channel
§ Bobby Carpenter, Football/2002-05 – 97.1 FM The Fan and WBNS-TV
§ Audrey (DiPronio) Flaugh, Volleyball/1988-90 – BTN
§ Dustin Fox, Football/2001-04 – ESPN and 92.3 The Fan
§ Joey Galloway, Football/1991-93-94 – ABC/ESPN
§ A.J. Hawk, Football/2002-05 – YouTube and SiriusXM
§ Kirk Herbstreit, Football/1990-92 – ABC/ESPN and Amazon Prime
§ Jim Jackson, Basketball/1990-92 – FOX and Turner Sports
§ Brendon Kearney, Hockey/2016-19 – AM 1460
§ Clark Kellogg, Basketball/1980-82 – CBS Sports
§ Jim Lachey, Football/1981-84
§ Joey Lane, Basketball/2016-19 – WBNS-TV
§ Jeff Logan, Football/1974-77 – 610 WTVN and The CW
§ Caity Matter Henniger, Basketball/2001, 2003-05 – AM 1460
§ Phil Mattingly, Baseball/2003-05 – CNN
§ John Mowat, Hockey/1983-85 – AM 1460
§ Joshua Perry, Football/2012-15 – NBC Sports
§ DeVier Posey, Football/2008-11 – WBNS-TV
§ Tyvis Powell, Football/2013-15 – BTN, WBNS-TV and 97.1 FM The Fan
§ George Reese, Basketball/1999-00 – WBNS-TV
§ Jay Richardson, Football/2004-06 – WSYX-TV
§ Jerry Rudzinski, Football/1995-98 – 97.1 FM The Fan
§ Rick Smith, Basketball/1976-79 – WBNS-TV
§ Bob Spears, Baseball/1993-96 – AM 1460
§ Robert Smith, Football/1990-92 – FOX
§ Obie Stillwell, Football/1994-95 – WSYX-TV
§ Ron Stokes, Basketball/1982-85 – 97.1 The Fan
§ Nick Swisher, Baseball/2000-02 – NBC Sports and Peacock
§ Kristin Watt, Basketball/1982-85 – AM 1460
§ Justin Zwick, Football/2002-06 – WSYX-TV
