Sources: Hall of Fame broadcaster Bill Roth (@vtvoice) is leaving #Hokies after 27 seasons for similar post at #UCLA. Annoucement imminent.— David Teel (@DavidTeelatDP) April 22, 2015
Bill Roth's final #Hokies broadcast will be Saturday's spring football game. He and Mike Burnop worked 337 straight football games together.— David Teel (@DavidTeelatDP) April 22, 2015
"From the blue waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the hills of Tennessee, the Virginia Tech Hokies are on the air!"
Bill Roth, the Voice of the Hokies, is slated to leave Blacksburg for Los Angeles, California. The Key Play can confirm David Teel's report. Virginia Tech has also confirmed Teel's report in a released statement.
"While we are certainly sad to see Bill depart from Virginia Tech, we are sincerely happy for him and his family for this new opportunity," Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock said in a release. "Bill forever will be a Hokie, no matter where he works, and we thank him for his tremendous service, professionalism and friendship. He has been such a beloved part of the brand and the fabric of Virginia Tech. He will certainly be missed. We will honor Bill and his 27 years of service by creating an endowed scholarship in his name. Bill's final game will be this weekend's Spring Game, and we hope all fans in attendance at Lane Stadium will join us at 2 p.m., as we celebrate Bill and his career here."
Chris Roberts, the radio voice of the UCLA Bruins football and basketball teams, and four-time Golden Mike Award winner, called his last game on March 27—a 12-point UCLA basketball loss to Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen. Roth is in line to replace Roberts in Westwood. At this time it's unknown who will take over Roth's responsibilities in Virginia Tech's booth.
"This has been such an incredibly difficult and emotional decision to leave," Roth said in a release. "I love Virginia Tech ... our coaches, our staff, our athletes, and our amazing fans. We've been through so much together over these 27 years, and I owe a tremendous thanks to each of them for their support, and for listening and watching our programs over the years.
"Professionally, this is a phenomenal opportunity to work at another prestigious and championship-level program. I am honored and humbled to be chosen for the opportunity to represent UCLA and to work at the Rose Bowl and Pauley Pavilion, two of the most historic venues in sports, while continuing my career at IMG.
"Also, I am extremely excited about the challenge to work in the nation's second-largest media market and to live in a true global city, Los Angeles. Personally, I have a dozen family members who live within an hour of Pauley Pavilion. I'm eager to see them on a consistent basis. Being close to my family was a major part of this decision."
Roth spent 27 seasons as the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Virginia Tech's football and basketball teams. He also hosted Virginia Tech Sports Today, the Sunday morning television magazine show that airs on television stations and cable networks throughout the mid-Atlantic and southeast.
Roth was a 2013 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame inductee. He has also been honored as Virginia's Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association 11 times.
North Carolina-based IMG College holds the syndicated broadcast rights of both Virginia Tech and UCLA. According to a report by The Los Angeles Daily News, UCLA wanted to make its hire by its April 25 spring football game, but Roth was not among the Daily News' candidates mentioned.
Comments
noooooo
This can't be happening. I've been listening to Bill and Mike since I was a kid.
I am stunned.
What possible reason? Makes no sense.
Really??? As much as I hate to see him go, how could you not want to work at the Rose Bowl and Pawley Pavilion? Not to mention it's one of the centers of the communication universe, assuming there can be more than one center. And family close by? LA's not one of my favorite places, but I can think of a lot worse.
Plus, ESPN is out there with a pretty large LA footprint. If he has his sights set on working for them someday, LA is a step in that direction.
I hope his primary reason is family. He is staying with his same employer while making this move. Bill will be missed.
Bill, please don't go to ESPN, the first step is a forced lobotomy.
Or maybe BIll can be a step in a better direction for ESPN.
That sounds good, but isn't that the tail wagging the dog? I like your optimism, but ESPN is a big machine...
I honestly don;t mind ESPN when it come to the actually broadcasting and commentating of games. Sportscenter can be what annoys me. That and some of the dumbass peripheral shows.
Personal reasons obviously. Why else would someone choose to leave their home of 27 years at his age?
Wow. I'm speechless. What a loss for Hokie nation. Best of luck to him.
I go here to grab his best moments:
http://www.hokiesports.com/radio/greatesthits.html
Wow, this is like listening to life's happiest moments on one web page.
Number 25 was a memorable one for me. The band (HTs) had traveled to that game and we were put on fold out bleachers behind the end zone. Turned out to be the best seats in the house since VT held firm on a goal line stand right in front of us to run the clock out for the win. Wish him the best. He's going to be missed.
Well shit.
Double shit.
Triple dukes.
Is April fools all month long? I hope so.
Are they taking auditions for his replacement? I'd like consideration!
Despite no experience in broadcast media whatsoever, I believe my passion for Hokie sports is sufficient to get a shot. However, I would most certainly have to tone down my colorful vocabulary as appropriate...
:(
I've grown up with him as THE voice of VT football.
Wow, that really stinks. But good luck to him.
Damn, that kinda sucks. He and Burnop were quintessential VT football. Best of luck and thanks for the memories; lots of good calls over the years.
If you actually know Bill Roth this is a bit of a shock but the move to West coast (CALI) makes sense. The state laws make it easier for everyone to be happy if you know what I mean. People are more understanding in LA than Southwest VA.
EDIT: I won't comment on this any further.
This was my first thought.
Yes, right on point Hokiejoe87... "great move for him and his family".
He will be missed... the sound of just blasting the volume of him and Mike before and after the game while tailgating will never be the same.
I was starting to feel bad for him during the interviews with Buzz this year after the bball games, and I gained so much more respect for him as a broadcaster to get through those. (please watch them on YouTube if you haven't, Bill does an awesome job with them as hard as they must have been with a Coach who won't look him in the eye and takes some serious long pauses, broadcasters nightmare)
As we all grew up listening to Bill he will definitely be missed! But I definitely wish him the best of luck in the future and know that UCLA will fall in love with him fast!
Why did you feel bad for him in interviews with Buzz? I don't think I watched any of them honestly.
yeah I'm kind of in the dark here too....I'm reading through this thread and I'm getting a sense that everyone knows something that I don't
I'm sad to hear that Bill Roth won't be the voice of the Hokies any longer, but I wish him the best in L.A. I haven't been listening as long as most of the other people on here, but I know he was damn good. Thanks to Bill for making Saturdays in Fall so special for so long.
I can kinda make inferences as to what is being implied, but I prefer not to make assumptions with knowing the facts.
Oh I'm assuming my ass off over here.
So what exactly are you guys implying? That there is some kind of lack of respect on Buzz's part? Because he said this about Roth in a piece (here: http://www.roanoke.com/news/bill-roth-overwhelmed-as-he-leaves-virginia-...)
"[I] admire his spirit, appreciate his skill set and hope when I grow up I can be more like him personally and professionally," Tech men's basketball coach Buzz Williams said in a text message.
If its personal stuff with Roth (or anyone for that matter), people are better off saying what's up or not saying anything at all (usually the latter). Especially on the internet. Implying things without actually saying what you mean leaves things up to interpretation. And since everyone interprets things differently, that can lead to a lot of rumors and nasty places.
Good luck in Cali, Roth. You'll always have a home at VT
That's a shame that it's the case but I'm glad for him.
EDIT: Nevermind. Yes to what you're getting at.
I wish Bill absolutely nothing but the best, UCLA is getting a great one.
Gotta do what you gotta do. Respect.
Hokiesports.com put up an announcement and video of him and Burnop talking about the move. Some feel good clips and calls in it
http://www.hokiesports.com/football/recaps/20150422aaa.html
I just shed a tear...cannot even watch all of it. :(
I watched that and some little ninjas starting cutting onions.
I'm sorry, what?
Wow. Never thought I would read this. I had to verify it wasn't April 1.
Wow. Absolutely will miss hearing him on air this fall. He's the reason I purchased my bluetooth stereo system so that i could stream the radio broadcast and the tv simultaneously.
On a serious note, i will definitely miss hearing 'Touchdown Tech!' He is truly a great sportscaster. Best of luck to him in LA!
I don't even...
Drez?
Oh my god. This is real.
Happy for Bill personally, but really bummed for Hokienation at the moment. Lost a great one today.
It's stuff like this that makes me remember things are always business first in this world. More of this to come unfortunately for us in the coming years and it really makes me appreciate even more the era we have all been privileged to listen to, watch, and cheer for. Good luck to Bill!
Your right it's scary, the better our young coaches get the more we will see them leaving. The days of so one staying for 20 plus years somewhere is over and that is going to be very very difficult for long time Hokie fans to understand and accept.
I was talking more about the coaches who had been here for 15-20+ years, but yeah the young ones leaving will also suck, this all just sucks and now I am depressed thinking about the future.
TYROD DID IT MIKEY, TYROD DID IT!
Gonna miss it. Gonna sound real weird in the fall, listening to the pre game in the parking lot before games. What about Burnop? Does he stay?
I was wondering the same about Burnop. Hope he sticks around
Yeah, in the past, I never needed to hear a station ID or anyone's name to know I had tuned to the correct station, it was nearing the voice that I knew I had the correct one.
Appreciate him for what he's done... But man...
Leaving to go work for another school at the same position after being here for 27 years just doesn't seem right. If he left on his own accord....
I'm struggling to find a way to understand his decision.
The guy lost his sister to cancer just a few years ago. He says he has family out there so I'd imagine he's trying to get back closer to them. I can't see any way that Roth would insult VT by just up and leaving without a valid reason. He has too close of a relationship with the school, administration, and more importantly, his partner Burnop.
It's easy to respect his decision - UCLA is one of the 5-10 most prestigous brands in all of college sports. Add in the fact that he has family in CA, and I'm sure he will be handsomely compensated.
VT was his employer. He left for a better job. I wish him all the best, and am grateful for the 17 years I've listened to him since my freshman year.
I get him leaving for family, but can we not crowd fund so his family can move here? I don't want him to leave and I would happily chip in for that.
Maybe he could work remotely?
Haha. I actually laughed out loud.
Need to schedule UCLA in the near future! Maybe we can hear him so Touchdown Tech one more time!
Agree with the sentiment but wanted to point out IMG Sports has been his employer and they also have a contract with UCLA so he will be working for the same company.
Very easy to respect his decision. It sucks for us; he gave us a great 27 years, but some things in life are more important than your career. UCLA is a huge name with historic venues, LA is a much better city of broadcasting opportunity, and most importantly he mentioned he has family out there. I don't know him personally but if he is looking to be closer to family members who he probably very rarely sees now, then I can't help but respect his decision.
Its fair to say that he has really had only one stop during his career as a Broadcaster. 27 years is a long time to be at one place. He is still young, and its important to make a change sometimes if you want to keep that fire in the belly. I completely respect that. Remember, he has no real ties to Blacksburg. It's just where he started his career. A very long and successful one. We were lucky to have him as long as we did.
UCLA is almost a dream job. Big market, great weather. He will get to work at an athletic department that is almost always relevant in basketball and football. And then there is the family thing...
From what I know, the move was his decision and he wasn't forced out.
I can't imagine anyone as beloved as him being forced out.
And I'm struggling to find a way to respect your post.
He gave Virginia Tech 27 years of wonderful service. He owes us nothing. We owe him a debt of gratitude.
I am really hoping you meant to say "understand" instead of "respect"
I worked in the Athletic Dept as a student assistant and I think I can speak to this feeling your having. There is a distinct difference between being a fan of something and having that same something provide you income and be your career. I always wanted to work in athletics and broadcasting growing up, but not one month into working in the VT athletic department I realized that I could never do it professionally. My desire to be a VT fan outweighed my desire for it to be my profession (the it being sports broadcasting/journalism). I could never go and work at East Tennessee State University doing the same work I was doing at VT, my fan-hood meant more to me than the work did. Just look at the way coaches move from school to school and adopt the new schools as their own while they are there. I personally could never do that and realized it quickly. Others like Bill, attended other schools (Syracuse) and then spent 27 years at VT, they make the decision early on that the work is more personal than the school or team. I totally understand your feeling of thinking you could never make the choice Bill just made, many of us on here probably couldn't, and that's because this isn't our careers.
I've often considered giving up filming my HS's football games and the accompanying free admission and food, because I miss being down in the stands, cheering and making a general ruckus. I haven't painted my face, been able to yell loudly especially at the refs, or attempt to play our fight song on my vuvuzela(I think I do a pretty good job considering that it only produces one note) after a score or big play for several seasons now.
I shared this with Bill the day of the Miami game this year (you know, the night we wore #ALLMAROONEVERYTHING and Miami was too frightened to take the field so nothing happened). One of my greatest moments at VT:
He liked the image. Must have brought back a good memory for him, too.
Great call, and Great Unis
Wow....this is horrible.
My perspective: I'm 28. I've ONLY heard Bill Roth calling games.
Shocked is an understatement. But, I can totally understand the reasoning. Good luck, Bill, and thanks for all the memories!
I can't even fathom turning on the radio and not hearing Roth. For many of us he's all we've known. His voice is synonymous with Hokie football and Hokie sports. I've listened to his calls since he came to Tech and I can't imagine him not being on my radio.
Dammit, I need a hug and a drink.
This means we won't get to hear his intro! That's what MAKES me get excited. That gets me as pumped as Sandman.
Amen!!! Gameday won't be the same without that intro.
I have to get that on my phone somehow and have it saved for game days. I'm tech savvy but not as much on the audio end of things. Can anybody steer me in the right direction?
It would be funny if UVA beat UCLA in their opener. Roth probably doesn't remember what it's like to call a UVA victory.
1) What the f$@k, Bill?
2) So now there's a space next to Burnop for DW4, no?
Yes and no to #2. While there's technically a space, DW4 is busy training for the Olympics and I would expect DW4 to fill more of a color commentator roll like Burnop than to do play by play like Roth.
Burnop is the folksy color man and couldn't realistically do play by play...that takes a different animal. I am hoping that the powers that be can come up with someone who can fit in and keep that chemistry going. Burnop could be silly and flip and still pull it off because of Roth's seamless ability to fit Burnop's observations/jokes/ribbing into the broadcast without sacrificing the professionalism of his own calling, making for an entertaining product without seeming like the "stiff" one next to Burnop's "clown". I say this with affection, I like Mike and really hope he stays and just keeps being himself.
*emotions*
Are we blaming Weaver, Stinespring, or the Thoroughbreds for this revolting development?
You know it!
Blame BS for everything. Give Weaver a break because he is gone but if he was here he would be hiring a public speaking graduate from Blacksburg High @ 21,000.00 / year.
Man I will miss his voice and wish him well in LALA land. We still have Burnop though and he tells it like it is. Good or bad.
Yes
Shit. I can understand wanting to be closer to family, though. But shit!
He and John Ward of Tennessee were the voices of college football for me growing up.
I'm sorry, however
In all seriousness I wish him and his fam well. I hope we get someone awesome to pick up the slack for Burnop.
Nothing but respect for Bill. We are lucky we had him for as long as we did. Side note, i hope we can keep his intro - it always gives me chills
NO! No no no no no no no! *stomps foot and holds breath like a 5 year old*
AHHH! WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?
Can we go ahead and put Burnop on lockdown somehow? I'm not sure I could take both of them not being on the air.
I know I'm weird for saying this but I was never really overtly impressed with Burnop when he was commenting. Just didn't really connect. Good guy and all. Also, why don't we just clone Bill Roth?
I don't know. Maybe it's just because I am so used to hearing them both.
The thing about cloning Bill, unless I missed something in cloning technology, is we'd still have to wait for him to grow up. I like your initiative though.
Going to miss Bill. Not to pile on but maybe he takes Burnop with him. Let's start fresh.
Looks like regardless of weather, I'll be at the spring game now.
Wow, this sucks. I wish him the best, great guy. I wouldn't mind seeing Kyle Bailey replace him.
Can VT trademark his opening? Is that allowed?
Well, we know 2 things:
1) Bill cannot use the same saying at UCLA - geographically it doesn't make sense.
2) UVA cannot steal the saying because their broadcast doesn't air to the Blue Ridge Mountains because they have no fans that go to spring games....
I was actually thinking about this the other day and my guess is that if anyone did apply for a trademark on the saying (or was in a position to do so, because of the money required for such a process), it would be Virginia Tech or IMG.
From what I can tell through the awful USPTO trademark search engine, none of the interested parties have a trademark on the phrase.
He'll come back when California runs out of water.
Absolutely. It will happen. They are actively making their water situation worse instead of better.
Eventually demand will go high enough to justify the cost of water desalinization right?
Or am I just talking outta my butt?
Desalinization will happen in California. Its almost a foregone conclusion at this point.
What are you talking about? Those puddles of water on the road I drive through every morning are most definitely not from leaking sprinkler systems....../s
And money. And businesses. And people. And everything else.
There's already an investigation going on:
Bill Roth is trending on Twitter
Along with #UnpopularActionMovies like Batman and Robin.
this is a game'day' changer. I will certainly miss his call on the games. I always figured he would retire here, but I understand if he feels this is the right thing for him. To me, he will always be "the Voice of the Hokies"
Bill Roth is all I have ever known when it comes to VT broadcasts. Nothing can compare to his amazing intro. and his classic "Touchdown Tech!" calls through the years. He will be greatly missed. I wish him nothing but the best at UCLA and wherever else he may end up.
From the Hokiesports article, it shows what a great guy Bill is. I wish him nothing but the best
NO WAIT I GOT IT
James Gayle should call the LOLUVA game with Burnop.
I just peed on myself a little at the thought.
He should be the permanent replacement on football broadcasts.
I am stunned. I never even CONSIDERED the possibility of Bill ever leaving. This hit me harder than missing out on the high profile recruits the last few years. Just completely out of nowhere...
I hear Rich Rod could be in the mix as a replacement, oh wait...
welp, this sucks camel dicks
What's wrong with camels??? Haha
Good for him. UCLA is a step up in athletics and having family around there only helps.
VT is going to have some new faces in the next couple years.
.
I'm stunned, but completely understand and respect his decision. Best wishes to Mr. Roth moving forward and a heartfelt "Thank you" for all you have done for our university, the NRV community, and us fans.
Whoever is his successor (not replacement-that would be impossible), I will openly welcome that person since being willing to try to fill Roth's shoes requires a lot of ambition and a ton of intestinal fortitude. But if the new broadcaster refers to us as "Vah Tech", that person is dead to me.
Heather Dinich?
Next time use the big one with watermarks all over it.
12:16AM and your just made me wake up the family. Well done, well done!!
While it is emotional to lose a guy so closely associated with the rise of VT athletics, it's worth noting that not only will we be replacing a trusted, endeared voice, but Roth is really, really good. Really good. That's how he gets the UCLA job.
It is going to be a struggle to find someone we trust like Roth, but it will be difficult to find someone with a comparable skill set.
Well done, Bill Roth. Well done.
Which is why his replacement should be from Hokie Nation...
This is the real point...Roth is indeed really, really good. I have heard a lot of announcers and precious few have his ability to be so familiar to the VT fan, but to also take the other team seriously and announce the game without so many of the usual "homerisms" you normally find in sports announcers. Yeah, you knew who he was announcing for, but it was professional the way he went about it. I am not expressing myself well, here, but I thought he was absolutely perfect for us, and I just don't know how we'll replace him.
Good luck to Bill, sad, sad day for Hokiedom.
Best of luck to Bill. I feel bad for the next guy. It is very hard following a legend.
[Obligatory "Who will replace
BeamerBill Roth" thread]Bud can call games and defenses at the same time, right?
Will someone be putting out the VT equivalent of Space the Infinite Fronteer with Bill Roth hosting a show, probably with a different topic like animals, ocean life, etc.?
I put Bill in the very upper tier of broadcasters guys like Vin Sculley, Harry and Skip Caray, Larry Munson who you'd listen to calling grass growing. He will be missed
this seemed appropriate to me for some reason, even looks a bit like Costanza...and the beach, etc
Guess I'll have to find another team.
Best of luck to Bill. He was great for us and will definetly be missed.
I had the opportunity to meet Bill during a Bowl game trip a couple years ago. I expected he wouldn't have much time to chat but he was very engaging with me, asking me what I did and what my story was. Very much a people person. He is just like he seems he would be by listening to him on air.
Somebody call up Marcolini.
Did he call anything regularly besides FB and BB? I could see the guy that called BB while Bill was at the football games (the guy that would give the halftime updates & read the acc scoreboard) being a temporary fill-in. Cant remember his name. Wonder if Carroll (long snapper extraordinaire & newspaper man) would make the jump to radio.
You're thinking of Andrew Allegretta, who is the same person that does WBB games. It would seem logical to me that he steps up if they want to keep Burnop and they would just promote Kyle Bailey or hire someone new to take over WBB and halftime updates/etc. Otherwise, I could see a whole new team coming in as I'm not really sure Burnop would want to start new with someone else.
This just makes me unendurably sad. Bill is probably the greatest broadcaster I've ever heard in real time. He's just part of what makes Hokie football special. I know he's going to like it out there in LA, but damn. I will miss him something fierce. Last summer he came into the Rivermill and saw down with a bunch of interns while I was there. Distinct feeling of being in the presence of greatness. I have no doubt UCLA & fans will love him every bit as much as we did.
I feel sad, lost, and alone.
Wow, that's the hardest hit UCLA has given us since the illegal one on Logan.
Good for him though. For sportscasting that is a great market to be in. I'm sure he will be back at VT some day to receive honors at half time of some game. It will be well deserved.
Seriously. I just got to a place where the name Jordan Zumwalt doesn't make me break out in a cold sweat and shake with anger.
He is the only person I've ever been glad to see hurt and their NFL career presumably go down the drain. I hope that douche nozzle spends the rest of his life in some menial, tedious, humiliating job.
Oops, double post.
I doin't mean to be rude (and maybe this is a generational thing?), but I don't see what all the hubub is about.
He's been here for awhile, true, but it's not like he was part of the FB staff that built up the team.
You haven't listened to many games solely on radio have you? That's the only way I heard the MV7 game against WVU to get VT to the NC game.
I don't think people are angry or think less of him, just surprised. It's just unusual for someone his age (in any career) to make a lateral career move cross country, to a place he's never lived before. Those who know him understand that it's for personal reasons, but to an outsider looking in (90% of the fan base), it's just shocking to see a someone almost 60 years old just up and leave his post of over 27 years.
He's only 49
I'm guessing that you most likely have never heard Bill call a game, or not many games. I cannot tell you how many people who can't get to a televised game will turn off the audio to watch the game while listening to Bill call it. My father did while he was living--Bill is both insightful and objective in his play-by-play and really adds magic to the sense of community that is Hokie nation. After tomorrow, you will never have the chance to experience this again. Never is an ugly word--as in, I will never be able to go to the top of the World Trade Center or see "The Old Man in the Mountain" in New Hampshire, both things I assumed would be around always.
Leg up yourself for a thoughtful, insightful post. You called it like a pro.
One doesn't really appreciate how good Bill Roth is until you listen to some other college football radio broadcasts. LOLUVA upgraded their on-air team a couple of years ago, and they're light years away from the quality radio from Roth and Burnop. I've heard Carolina's, Michigan, Iowa, Tennessee, and I think Kentucky....all pale to Tech's gameday radio. This is the radio equivalent of Beamer being hired by someone else. You have to wish the best for the guy, but, wow, what giant shoes we have to fill. Happy trails, Bill!
I would argue the radio equivalent of Bud being hired away. Don't get me wrong, Beamer leaving would leave me upset, but Bud leaving would leave me devastated (radio-wise, where I am now).
I can agree with that.....the basketball equivalent would be someone hiring Coach K away from Duke.
This is the second time one of my favorite local announcers got hired away by a west coast team (Jon Miller - San Francisco Giants).
It does make a lot of sense, though. Sports on the radio is much more important on the west coast than it is here:
- people spend a lot more time in their cars due to traffic.
- games start a lot earlier when playing east coast teams. When a prime-time weekday game starts on the east coast, people are ending their workday on the west or driving home.
This is on top of just the size of the media market. Bill is going to get a much bigger audience there than he would ever have in Blacksburg.
He used to come into the Christiansburg Barnes & Noble (where I worked part time), and I had the pleasure of meeting him as I helped him order CDs and DVDs. We talked shortly before the 2007 BC game about how excited he was to call that game. I wish him all the success in the world.
As a San Francisco Giants fan I would like thank you for Jon Miller!! Many great years of great calls
One day later.
If we all listen to the spring game on the radio he'll stay right? Right? Someone please help me.
Listening to the HokiesXtra app to hear a legends last broadcast for the Hokies. Don't think Bill Roth or myself will make it through the entire broadcast without some onion ninjas showing up.
David Teel wrote a nice article about the search to replace Roth:
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-vt-radio-search-...
Sounds like there's plenty of interest in the position.
I listened to the spring game on the radio on Saturday and had some time to throw some thoughts together. Thanks for reading.
I miss Blacksburg. I missed Blacksburg as a student when I had to leave for the summer. At times during a summer internship, I would sit in our conference room and play Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams highlights on the TV we used to present. Football, mountains, and Lane Stadium full of rowdy students would transport me back and hold me over until I could get back to our mountain town. There's something about a football game that seems to distill Virginia Tech's experience down to its essence. It's inevitable, then, that indelible memories of the highlights of my college career (07-13) were narrated by Bill Roth. "Tyrod did it Mikey!" still gives me chills. When I heard the Voice of the Hokies was leaving, I almost played that call out loud in the office to see how many of the Nebraska grads I work with would shudder. I left Blacksburg for Big Ten country for work, and it's hard finding a good group to watch games with anymore. And besides, I travel for work almost constantly during football season. More so now than when I was in Blacksburg, Bill's voice has served to connect me to the football, fan base, and traditions that I love.
As much as Bill's voice defined my time at Tech, it has more so defined what it means to be a Hokie away from Blacksburg. Before there was the IMG app, the scratchy sound of Bill and Mike fading in and out of an AM station was Hokie football in my childhood home without cable. Now, Bill and Mike's digitized voice cutting in and out of cell phone service as I drive through BFE Iowa is Hokie football in my alumni life. Bill's voice serves to connect those of us thrown out into the world to our shared time in Blacksburg.
Bill Roth has been the consummate Hokie. It's fitting then that just like most of us that spent so much time in Blacksburg, he's leaving for a job somewhere else. I hope in his new role, he continues to define a Hokie away from Blacksburg. UCLA is gaining a talented, caring broadcaster. I hope his attachment to Tech isn't forgotten, like the thousands of us who went out in the world flying our maroon and orange colors.
We'll miss you Bill. Thanks for dedicated service and your unfailing ability to bring us back home.
Time to schedule a home and home with UCLA
Well, Burnop >>>> Glennon (at this stage of his color career, anyway). Andrew Allegretta sounds like he could slide up (to Bill's spot) if necessary
Here is a present for everyone, for your phone or computer.
This is from the Military Bowl Intro, the last time he did it for a real game.
Thanks! I'll see if I can change the sound on my computer for boot up to this.
Yeah, that was the first thing I did. My game day alarm is usually set with Enter Sandman but I might have to make this clip a pre-alarm alarm.
Just heard Bill's call of a Josh Rosen touchdown on XM radio. He's still got it...that growing crescendo of excitement. (although he didn't say "Touchdown Tech!" or anything similar at the end)
https://twitter.com/davidteelatdp/status/738415720019693568
Bill Roth headed back East.
I like Laaser but please come home Bill!
He must have really hated LA because he was all about going out there to be close to family.
More info: http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-roth-returning-p...