There aren’t many broadcasters that have made a quicker rise to network status than Adam Amin. In eleven short years, the 35-year-old Amin has already worked at ESPN and is now coming into his own at Fox.
Within the last two years, Amin added to his already impressive resume by being named the television voice of the Chicago Bulls. He works alongside former Bulls center Stacy King and the two have teamed up for some fun calls over the last couple of seasons. In that job, Amin was tasked with replacing the legendary Neil Funk on the broadcast. He’s passed that test with flying colors. Amin was named the NSMA Illinois Sportscaster of the Year for 2021, becoming the first Chicago Bulls announcer to win since Jim Durham in 1990.
At Fox, Amin is currently working in two high profile booths. He calls the NFL on Fox and also worked the playoffs for Fox’s MLB coverage. The Illinois native Amin will also continue as the preseason television voice of the Chicago Bears.
He graduated from Valparaiso University, where Amin started his broadcasting career on WVUR-FM, the student run college station at the school. He told The Oklahoman several years ago that he wasn’t sure he’d even get into broadcasting until he got to college.
“I was like 18 when I started. I worked at the college radio station, WVUR, and really loved it and felt passionate about it and thought this is what I wanted to end up doing,” Amin said.
ROAD TO FOX/BULLS
There were many jobs along the way for Amin, who started like many, in a small town, and doing a number of broadcasts every year. While still a student he called minor league games for the Gary SouthShore RailCats and Joliet Jackhammers.
The next few years were busy ones. Between 2007 and 2011, Amin worked several jobs. He was a part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network, Fox Sports Wisconsin, the Horizon League Network, the Illinois High School Association Network and served as the Sports Director of KUOO in Sprit Lake, Iowa.
Amin’s big break came in 2011, when he was hired by ESPN to call college football and basketball for the network. After his first deal was coming to an end, he signed a new one with ESPN and his exposure rose exponentially. In 2018 he called the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. He was also named the lead announcer for the NFL on ESPN Radio. Part of his deal with ESPN also had him calling the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Amin’s time at ESPN came to an end, when he left for Fox in May of 2020. He made his debut for Fox Sports in July of that year working a Cubs/Brewers game with Eric Karros. A month later, Fox announced that Amin would be part of the network’s NFL coverage, as a play-by-play announcer alongside Mark Schlereth. It was the first time he called a regular season NFL game on television. He made his debut at Mercedes-Benz Stadium when the Seahawks beat the Falcons. Later in 2020 he made his MLB on Fox debut in the playoffs calling the NLDS between the Braves and Marlins.
WHY IS HE SO GOOD?
For a relatively young guy, Amin grasps the concepts of play-by-play better than some that are much older than he is. Understanding the times to get excited, and the times to be quiet is learned behavior over years of practice.
There is one call in particular that displays both of these abilities. It’s the 2018 NCAA Women’s Championship Game. Notre Dame is facing Mississippi State for the title. A buzzer beater sent Notre Dame to a win over powerhouse UCONN providing a great broadcasting moment. But an even better one presented itself in the title game.
Here’s the call: “Ogunbowale, for the win…GOOD! Arike Ogunbowale wins the National Championship for Notre Dame! (He then lays out for 30 seconds as ESPN shows the celebration on the court) Arike does it again and the Irish do it again, for the first time in 17 years.”
Nailed it. He encapsulated every part of the story in just over fifty seconds and that includes the time where the crowd and pictures took over. That is just one example of many excellent calls from Amin over the years. His platform has grown, by adding the local Bulls broadcasts and now his expanded role at Fox, giving him more and more opportunity to impress.
Whether you are watching him on a national stage or locally, the enthusiasm he brings to the broadcast is incredible. Fun seems to surround his broadcasts, no matter who he is working with or what sport he’s calling. It shines through when broadcasting Bulls games with his partner Stacey King. For example.
His voice is strong and he uses it well. Amin has a presence about him. He has a command over the broadcast. There’s a confidence about him, that comes from that command, knowing he is prepared and ready for big moments. It’s one less thing to worry about. Combine that with his obvious knowledge and preparation and you’ve got quite a broadcast.
Already Amin has developed a knack for rising to the occasion, to the gravity of the game and situation. There’s a big-game feel to his calls, meaning you know it’s an important game if he’s on the call. That’s quite a reputation to live up to, but Amin handles it well.
LOVE/HATE WITH TWITTER
Amin has nearly 49-thousand Twitter followers, but has chosen to stop interacting with followers. He shared that information with Mike Golic Jr. and Brandon Newman on an episode of the GoJo with Mike Golic Jr. podcast earlier this year. Amin talked about how he would go on Twitter and search for his name to see what people would say and that had a big effect on how he viewed himself.
“I got tired of leaning on other people for my own self-value and that was a hard thing to come to terms with. Once I figured that out and said let me disconnect from this completely and see if it affects me at all, I think it has. I still get frustrated, I still see tweets and I miss the interactions.”
Amin said he still checks Twitter, but he only goes there to look at information and does not reply back to anyone.
“I can’t stop using it. It’s the greatest information curation tool in the history of the planet,” he said. “I can’t stop using this app because it makes my job a hundred times easier. Maybe if I stop interacting with it completely, maybe I’ll see it for what it is. It’s user-sensitive. You get out of it what you put into it.”
DID YOU KNOW?
He is the son of Pakistani immigrants. His father came to the United States in 1978. He settled in Chicago and worked in a factory. His wife, Zubeda, and three sons, remained in Pakistan, until Mohammed made enough money to send for them in 1985. Adam was born the next year in Chicago. His father passed away just before he called the Women’s Final Four in 2018.
Adam’s brothers are 17, 13 and 9 years older than him. They are influential in his life and the three of them actually came up with Adam’s name. He told the story to The Oklahoman a few years ago.
“My brothers came up with my name. They all have really strong traditional Pakistani names, and they’d been going to school in the States for like a year before I was born.” he told the paper. “My mom wanted to name me after my dad when I was born and they were like, ‘yeah, we’re not doing that. We’ve gone to school in the states and they all make fun of our accents.’ They went to school in the mid-80s in America, so it’s like ‘why don’t we make it a little easier on him?’ So, I take pride in that.”
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
