The Mississippi State Bulldogs have decided they will play in the Reliaquest Bowl on January 2 following the sudden death of head coach Mike Leach. The Bulldogs and new coach Zach Arnett will take on Illinois. Bill Roth will handle play-by-play for the national broadcast on Bowl Season Radio.
“We’ve actually discussed it as the crew that’s doing the game, about the sensitivity that we need to show for this one and how in a way it’s a tribute to Coach Leach,” Roth told Mark Berman of The Roanoke Times. “It’s such a loss for the sport, but it’ll be an honor to call that game.
Leach has been celebrated not only as an offensive innovator but as a gregarious media presence in the wake of his death. One of the most memorable parts of the coach’s personality was his fascination with pirates. Roth noted that it was appropriate that the Bulldogs are playing a game to honor their coach at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s somewhat ironic that it’s going to be at a stadium where there’s a pirate ship in the end zone and … pirate logos all over.”
For Mississippi State fans, they couldn’t ask for a better person on the national call than Bill Roth. He served as the voice of the Virginia Tech Hokies during the 2007 season. Before that season opened, a mass shooting occurred on the school’s campus in Blacksburg. The first home game was a cathartic moment for students and fans as it was the first time since the incident that the entire university community had come together.
Roth says he is going to draw on that experience to do justice to Leach and to fans of Mississippi State on January 2.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time making sure we’re sensitive and present it the right way.”
Bill Roth and the Reliaquest Bowl will be heard nationall on SiriusXM.
