Fifteen years ago, David Kelly arrived in Tucson for a role with Learfield IMG College on radio broadcasts for the University of Arizona. Three years later, Kelly transitioned to television for a sports reporter/anchor role at FOX 11 and would eventually move on to KOVA-TV.
12 years later, Kelly was thinking about his next opportunity…
A move to another market?
A return to radio?
Whatever it was going to be, Kelly was ready for a change.
“You never know in this industry,” said Kelly who has been named Program Director and afternoon host for Wildcats Radio 1290, a role he will commence on Monday June 12th with his show to be heard weekdays from 4pm to 6pm.
For Kelly, it’s kind of a full-circle moment.
“You get to that point where the next step for me is to kind of leave and be in a director’s type of role whether that be TV or radio,” said Kelly. “This opportunity came about and obviously with it being the flagship of the Arizona Wildcats, it was something that was right in my wheelhouse. I went after it and here we are.”
Kelly is ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
As his time with KOVA winds down, Kelly will soon be meeting with the Wildcats Radio staff and begin the process of formatting the radio station. In the past, Wildcats Radio has had several different sounds, but Kelly has a feeling of how he would like to see it take shape under his leadership.
If you’re a Wildcats fan, you’re going to love this.
“I think the way I want to do it is I want to take it back to a community radio type of style,” said Kelly. “I think we’re going to be heavy U of A, maybe heavier U of A than they’ve been. A lot of the hosts have pretty much focused on the two big sports football and men’s basketball but I want to expand that.”
Over the course of his television career in Tucson, Kelly has paid close attention to all sports at the University of Arizona and has covered everything including men’s tennis, women’s volleyball and also swimming.
He wants to make sure that all of the U of A teams are part of the radio station’s DNA.
“That’s one of the things that helped me in this position is the University knows that I’m going to be at all the events,” said Kelly. “You’re going to see me at everything.”
Not only will Kelly make sure that all U of A programs are covered, but he also wants to make sure that the other events in the Tucson area get some publicity. Whether it’s high school student-athletes, golf tournaments or auto racing, Kelly is going to make sure that Wildcats Radio is going to be a sports destination for all fans in the area.
“I want to touch everything in this community sports-wise,” said Kelly.
Kelly spent more than two decades working in radio before he moved over to television and now his challenge is to quickly recapture that feel and experience that he had on the radio side.
In his new role, he’s going to have to do that in a couple of different ways because not only is he going to be the boss but he’s also going to be the talent.
“That’s going to be interesting,” said Kelly. “I’ve always kind of been one of the underlings. The last time I worked in radio was in Cleveland at WTAM and so I’ve only worked in that role as an ancillary piece. Now it’s going to be different from that respect. I haven’tworked in radio since 2005 so I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of formatting and all of that.”
In his two sports media “lives,” Kelly has enjoyed plenty of experiences and success in both radio and television. In his time working in Tucson, Kelly has established himself in the community as a trusted voice when it comes to the University of Arizona.
He’s also shown a commitment to everything else going on in town and that’s where he has a unique edge going into this position at Wildcats Radio.
It doesn’t matter if it’s television or radio because Kelly seems to have his finger on the pulse of what works.
“I think the commonality is being out and being present and letting people see you and getting that station brand out there,” said Kelly. “It’s letting folks know we’re here for you and we want to tell your stories and we want to be making sure that people know about your events.”
University of Arizona fans, as well as all sports fans in the Tucson area, are all familiar with the work of David Kelly on the television side. And now, they’re going to have the opportunity to see him put his fingerprints on Wildcats Radio 1290 and have that radio station truly be the community’s radio station.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
