The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2021 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan basketball play-by-play announcer Brian Boesch got his start filling in for Matt Shepard, U-M's pre- vious game-caller whom is now with the Detroit Tigers. He got the job full-time two years ago and has had a blast since. Boesch sat down with us to talk about his experience and more in this Q&A: The Wolverine: Word has it you got your start in this profession by getting your education in that state down south? How'd it all begin? Boesch: "I did, and it's very important you get this right. … I went to Ohio University. Ohio. I have to really empha- size that there's no 'State' there. "But Ohio has a really good journalism program. I gradu- ated in 2011, and that's where I got my start. I had gotten to school thinking I wanted to be a writer, but I really fell for broadcasting, had a passion for it. I did a lot of Ohio women's basketball and then baseball games, was a side- line reporter for football my senior year. … Eventually I got into minor league baseball. "Originally, baseball was the path, but boy, 140 games, 152 games got old quickly." The Wolverine: So how did you make your way to Ann Arbor? Boesch: "I was working down in North Carolina for IMG [Media] college headquarters for audio. I had been hosting for Michigan football and basketball for a few years. There happened to be a situation where Matt had to miss a game. … I came up in November and called the Chattanooga game. "It was a one-off thing. I literally drove that night down to North Carolina to make it back. … I actually drove through Columbus to make it back to Winston-Salem to do the host- ing for Michigan-Ohio State football the next day, the Friday after Thanksgiving. "That was the first opportunity to fill in. They liked it. Shep had to miss another game, so they had me come up again. Once he got the Detroit Tigers job, both IMG and the school elected to have me fill in for the postseason. "Talk about a whirlwind … that was a stretch of three weeks I'll never forget." The Wolverine: How much basketball had you actually broadcast before you got the job at Michigan? Boesch: "I had done a bunch of high school stuff, but maybe only 20 college games in my life. What was nice, though, was that through the IMG opportunity, I got some pretty good opportunities. I filled in for a couple of Duke men's basketball games … I didn't have a huge array, but the stuff I could send, the games mattered. "I called Coach K's [Mike Krzyzewski] 1,000th win at Duke. How random was that? It fell on a football Saturday and they needed me to fill in, so I drove out to Cameron [Indoor Sta- dium]. That was a crazy experience. "Small but mighty would be how I would characterize my experience before I came up here." The Wolverine: You've received great reviews from the fan base following an announcer the fans really liked. Are you having as much fun as it seems? Brian Boesch: "This is a dream come true for somebody who worked his way up in minor league baseball broadcasts that, by the end of it, I don't know anyone in the world who was listening. "To be able to be the broadcaster for a team that's so suc- cessful, a program that's so well loved, a university that has so many great people around it … it's a blast. It really is." The Wolverine: What's it been like working with Juwan Howard and his program the last two years behind the scenes? Boesch: "It's been great. I'm really thankful for all the access, all the candid answers, especially the past year. I have not met the freshmen in person, but they were still willing and able to talk to me … that takes a lot. How open they've been especially in a year when they could say, 'Who is this person on other side of the screen?' "It's been awesome. The staff, players, everybody involved. The culture people hear about, it really is a thing. It exists, and it goes beyond the basketball side of things. It's just re- ally special." — Chris Balas Boesch has served as the Wolverines' play-by-play announcer the past two years. PHOTO COURTESY BRIAN BOESCH Sitting Down With Michigan Basketball Play-By-Play Announcer Brian Boesch