http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-roth-returning-p...
But one year after leaving Virginia Tech to broadcast UCLA football and basketball on radio, Roth is returning to his eastern roots. He will remain on the air and with IMG College, developing new, nationally oriented programming from the company's Winston-Salem, N.C., headquarters.
"Professionally it was amazing. Personally, L.A. wasn't the lifestyle for me. (UCLA) may be the best job in the country for what I do, but it's not the best job for me, and as time went on I think I realized that more and more.
Looks like Bill Roth is headed back to NC to work directly for IMG.
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Comments
No offense to Laaser but BRING BACK BILL!!
This has my full endorsement.
Laaser seems great but Bill is VT football IMO.
No offense to Fuente but BRING BACK FRANK!! /s
Frank who?
/S before the pitchforks come out.
Frank himself said "it was time". Everyone reaches that point sooner or later. Nothing but respect for Fuente. Don't think anyone could have handled it better than he has.
Is it wrong to wish for Bill to come home and reunite with Mike? I like Laaser but Bill is a legend.
Agreed, I think that Laaser has done a fantastic job so far but I still wish for Bill to come back. At the same time, I don't think that Bill would want to steal Laaser's job either. He's just too nice of guy to do that.
I see no problem with all three of them in the booth together.
I...didn't know I was allowed to think this.
Thank you, NitWhitt
I just moved back to Winston-Salem weeks ago. Can't believe Bill missed me that much...
What part of Winston?
The Salem part
(sorry I had to)
Seeing Winston-Salem split into 2 distinct names made me realize for the first time that the cigarettes...
Yeah...I should probably not admit stuff like this...
You are not alone. As someone living right outside Winston-Salem, I am often amazed that when I tell people "like the cigarettes made there" as a descriptor I see the light go on.
Currently my in-laws basement until my wife and I find a house we like. I plan on inviting Bill Roth over to watch hokie games and provide me his insight. We are looking to move somewhere near the Sherwood Forrest part of town.
My parents are thinking of putting their home on the market this fall on Hearthside..........
One of a few roads we (me) cannot consider due to proximity to my in-laws! It's a good 1 minute walk to Hearthside from where my in-laws live (Stanaford Road). I need at least a 15 minute walk distance, preferably 100+ walk minutes away from them or else it's going to turn into everybody loves Raymond.
I adopted the two state rule with my mother-in-law.
We are moving the in-laws to an independent living community in Winston so they can be closer, and neither of us is all that excited about it. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing.
...you mean this isn't the right thing?
Don't know, there's a little too much ice under that chair to be honest
Good to see you're still a shameless ho. :--)
My neighbors just put their house up...I'm out in Lewisville though
My #SAUCES said he was very unhappy there. Happy he's coming back east!
He wasn't out there but a few months when he made an inquiry back to VT administration to see if there were any positions open in the Communications arena. I was threatened with divorce if I disclosed it back then. Been sitting on it......
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
I couldnt live in LA either. Welcome back to the right side of the country, Bill.
I hope we can make something work where he's still involved with VT.
I have a well-supported hunch that he will be doing some national stuff for IMG HQ until the ACC Network starts up. When that happens, he'll be one of the premiere voices.
Remember all those tweets he put out about the ACC Network?
That would make a ton of sense for both sides.
Hmmmm
Imagine if the ACC split up ACCN broadcasts based on region. Suddenly, he could be the voice of VT football on the TV instead of radio.
I would be ok with that
I just got goosebumps!
I used to sometimes watch the shortened encore presentation of VT games that would come on in the days afterward. Occasionally, I remember them using Bill and Mike's radio call for the commentary. I have no gripe with Mr. Laaser, but Bill Roth was just too good not to miss. Happy to have him back, however it shakes out, but sorry things didn't happen for him in Cali. While LA is obviously not for everyone, there are a ton of folks who are happy there. Me, I once waited almost thirty minutes to take a left turn from a side street near Santa Monica before I decided to try a suicide maneuver and pulled it off. I vowed "never again", and have since kept that vow. Welcome home, Bill.
As rumored on TKP a month ago!
Still won't be surprised if he is back working for Tech in another year or two.
Well there you go.
Good luck to Bill and who didn't love him; however we have a brand new era beginning. Onward and upward!
To fortify my earlier comment please check this link out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubqmHi16_Eo
Might bring a tear to your eye as well as some goosebumps looking forward. Do I lose man points for this? Come on September.!
Wait where is Frank Beamer going?
Living part-time in LA (USC law student), I am not surprised. I hate LA, and would never live there full-time. But SoCal is pretty crazy nice, at least San Diego and southern OC. I won't leave, but I get wanting to be in Appalachia. If the jobs were in in SWVA, I would definitely move back, if not just so I could have season tickets to the Hokies.
I live in LA now, and it ain't exactly SWVA. I love LA. I love what I do. The weather is amazing and the city has many great communities, especially near the beaches. Don't want to live her for much longer, but like you said, not a lot of opportunity back in SWVA for my line of work. Charlotte might have to suffice eventually.
I thought the primary reason he went to LA was to help his family out that way, and not so much as a professional move. Wonder what the deal is with that? Maybe the UCLA experience made him value his time at VT and doing ACC games even more than he thought. Love to see him back in some capacity, though.
From my understanding family really didn't play a part in his initial move out there. The closest family he had was still an hour away and it was a cousin or something like that. He also hated the traffic, as it apparently took him an hour each way to get to work.
He must have lived very close to work.
I could have sworn in those interviews with him after the news was announced he talked about being closer to family, specifically a sister and maybe more.
Eh, who knows? Doesn't matter now as he's coming back east.
I seem to recall that as well.
I, too, recalled the sister part. But apparently that was only referring to how he was familiar with the California area, as she passed away in 2012.
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150425/turns-out-theres-nothing-hockey...
Although, I think the main reason he went out there was this:
So Bill likes In-N-Out so much he took their name as career advice?
(I have nothing but the utmost respect for Bill Roth and hope finds happiness.)
Why haven't I thought of that!!! Genius. Time to call my Hokie friends that live in CA.
Please don't confuse us with facts. We're talking emotion here.
Just a guess, but if he and his partner broke up, that would explain the sudden 180 and return home.
I'd ask that everyone avoid speculating on anyone's private life.
It was tactfully worded, but fair enough.
The point is, there's more things that go into these decisions than VT vs. UCLA, and LA vs. NC. Glad to have Bill back closer to home, and hope he is well.
Just trying to shut down a rumor mill that immediately fired up when Bill left. Several people made comments about his personal life that were out of line back then; I want to avoid that happening again. Indeed, many factors go into anyone's choice of job and location. That's all that needs to be said.
100% of the reason he left: He straight-up hated LA. Personally, I can't blame him. I hate LA. It isn't for everyone.
I add my vote to bring back Bill Roth. I just turned 50 and it would be the best present I've gotten.
Bill is back at VT! As a professor.
http://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2016/08/clahs-roth.html
Well, those who can't (do radio anymore) teach. Exciting news for Tech because he definitely could and will offer something special to his students.
That's a nice story. Glad he's back at VT.
A true Hokie. He couldn't stay away.
I grew up listening to Bill Roth as a kid, and honestly he's one of the main reasons I'm pursuing a sports broadcasting career. To have an opportunity to learn from him for the next 4 years is amazing and I can't wait.
As someone who just graduated from the comm department at Tech: Damn.
I came here expecting to find some comments of comm grads who will miss out on the Professor Roth experience.
Thus is life as a graduate. The school keeps getting better and more attractive to 17 year olds, adding new and exciting dining halls/facilities and we get the call-center inquiries for donations to help pay for more of it! /s
It's great to see VT become 'better' every single year.
I had a professor that invested in Real Estate on the side. If you ever wanted to derail a lecture you would simply just ask a real estate question. In my mind I see Roth derailing lectures with awesome stories of the Hokies. Or at least I wish it to be the case
[ Student inexplicably falls asleep in class ]
[ Roth approaches and comes up next to his seat ]
"TYROD DID IT, MIKEY! TYROD DID IT!"
[ Student falls out of desk, cheering wildly ]
Sad thing is, current freshmen probably aren't old enough to remember that happening live
Well the only reason I don't remember hearing that iconic call on the radio is because I was too busy standing on the bleachers next to my dad watching the play unfold.
One of my favorite, if not THE favorite, memories of Tech football.
It's one of my greatest memories too. I had a TERRIBLE cold that weekend and felt like crap for days (might have been the flu looking back), and I had barely spoken all day. As soon as Danny Coale went racing down the sideline I jumped off the couch screaming; same thing when Tyrod completed the pass. Made me forget all about being sick.
I hope he starts out each class with:
"And now... from the green lawns of the Upper Quad to the murky waters of the Duck Pond, Virginia Tech COMM 3304 is now in session!"
i'd find a way for him to be part of the recruiting support team at VT
Great news! Glad he is back in Blacksburg.
Just moved into my new house in Winston-Salem last week. Been working on the basement so that Bill and I would have a good spot to hang out and watch the games. Wish he had called me to let me know he was leaving.
I'm pretty sure he is still doing his IMG work also.
*slides party invitation addressed to Bill under doors at IMG*
You know, he would be a good addition to the ACC Network...
Do you guys think Laaser is nervous about this move at all?
Nope.
No I don't think he's looking over his shoulder or anything. He just wants to do his job and keep improving. I guess you could say he has....
Laaser focus.
They aren't going to forcibly move him out, and he did a really good job last year. But I could see IMG offering him a "Promotion" somewhere else. I have no idea where that would be, though.
Laaser has nothing to be ashamed of. I thought he did a very good job. He is no Bill Roth, but, then again, who is.
Everybody loves old Bill. Most of us grew up hearing that golden voice.