Everywhere a sports fan turns these days, you’re bound to see or hear Kevin Kugler on the call. The versatile broadcaster is knee deep into the college basketball season, which will culminate with him calling the National Championship Game on Westwood One. He’s come a long way from his days as a co-host on 1620 “The Zone” in Nebraska.
Kugler holds a number of high-profile jobs these days, not just with Westwood One. Kugler calls basketball and football on the Big Ten Network and is a regular voice of the NFL on Fox. It’s a demanding schedule at times, but Kugler manages to handle it just fine.
“This time of year, isn’t really as crazy as the crossover season when I’ve got both football and basketball on my schedule.” Kugler told me. “There’s a lot of hoops games to call, but when I’m not juggling football and basketball, it’s certainly a little more manageable.”
Kugler has certainly made a name for himself and become one of the best in the business.
Road to Today
Kugler’s career began at 1620, “The Zone” in Omaha, Nebraska.
“I was there for nearly 12 years. We started the afternoon drive show “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” in September of 2000 and I left the station in July of 2012.” Kugler says.
From that job, he got to do some play-by-play at the College Baseball World Series, which is based in Omaha. It led to him being “discovered” if you will, on the national stage.
“So, the Westwood One opportunity came from the CWS. Our station, 1620 The Zone, acquired the rights to produce the preliminary games.” Kugler explained. “As part of the deal, Westwood One agreed to use a 1620 The Zone person on the sidelines. Thanks to my terrific boss, Neil Nelkin, that person was me.”
That particular assignment helped beyond Kugler’s wildest expectations.
“As it turned out, Howard Deneroff (now the EVP, Executive Producer at WWO) was the producer of those games.” he told me. “So, I met him (Deneroff) through that. Every year, he asked me to send him my tape. I was doing Division II football and basketball for the University of Nebraska-Omaha at the time. Sent him tapes each year after the CWS.” Kugler remembered.
“Then, prior to the CWS in 2006, he asked to hear stuff again. Then asked for more stuff. By this point, I’m digging into some of the clunkiest cassette tapes that I had, but that didn’t seem to faze him. He called in the summer of 2006, after the CWS, and offered me the chance to do college football and basketball for the network starting that fall. It was one of the best phone calls I’ve ever received!”
That is an understatement.
National Work, Big Ten, Westwood One, Fox
The Westwood One gig started to open doors for Kugler. But, one that previously opened to allow his success, closed.
“I only do the Championship series (of the CWS) these days for Westwood One. My good friend John Bishop handles the preliminary games and does a tremendous job.” Kugler told me. “I had the opportunity a few years back to expand my role with Fox and do some MLB and spring football coverage, so I had to give those games up.”
Kugler is happy to still be a part of the festivities, because that tournament means a lot to him. “The CWS is Omaha’s calling card!” Kugler proudly proclaimed. “And as someone who still calls Omaha home, it’s always an amazing thrill to walk into the booth at the CWS. I hope I get the chance to remain involved in that in some way for years to come.”
He now has three national jobs. At WWO, he’s been the voice of the Final Four and Championship Game since 2008. For a time Kugler was the voice of Sunday Night Football on the radio, but had to give that up for a bigger role too. More on that in a second.
In 2011, Kugler added the Big Ten Network to his portfolio, calling college football and basketball, among other sports. Since BTN was owned by Fox, Kugler also called some national games in both sports as well.
Kugler is also a play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ NFL broadcasts. He assumed that role in 2020. In addition to the NFL, he calls select college basketball and MLB telecasts.
What Makes Him Good?
Full disclosure, Kugler is one of my favorite people in the industry. I worked with him for a brief time at BTN doing baseball and softball broadcasts.
That being said, in all objectivity, he’s one of the best around right now for a number of reasons.
First off, he’s developed into one of the more versatile broadcasters in the industry. In a given week, he could be calling the NFL, College Football and College Basketball. That’s not as easy as it might sound. I mean how do you prep for a week like that?
“I’ve always been kind of a prep junkie. I enjoy telling stories, and getting lost down those ridiculous little rabbit holes where you start following a thread and a half hour later, you realize you finally found what you were looking for.” Kugler says. “To balance that with limited time takes a certain amount of discipline…I can’t chase those as much as I’d like sometimes, but I make sure I work ahead as much as I can, and I’m always grateful for a repeat team here and there!”
Yeah, I’ll bet.
But the amount of prep he does comes shining through in his broadcasts. There’s an ease about him that is a very comfortable listen. By that I don’t mean generic or vanilla. Kugler easily raises his energy to match the action and dials it down when needed as well. He creates anticipation in his voice in the way he builds up to the moment. I find this especially true when he’s calling basketball on the radio. The ability to use his voice to generate that hope for a listener is only something the best of the best can do.
The more he’s able to call games on the biggest stage, the more Kugler is able to earn that “you know it’s a big game when you hear him” badge. Young broadcasters tend to get too hyped for a championship type game, but Kugler has mastered his pacing, bringing the moment to his viewers and listeners in a manner that is just right.
There is a humbleness about Kugler as well. When I asked him, “what was the ‘ride’ like early in your career to get to this point?”
“My journey is probably no different than how it starts for so many of us in the business. I went to a small market, called high school sports, made a ton of mistakes, and tried to find my voice. I’ve been fortunate to have some terrific advice and opportunities along the way to where I am today.” Kugler said. “I’ve struggled to make it as a freelance broadcaster. I wrestled with the idea that it wasn’t going to happen for me, and what in the world would I do for a living if it didn’t? (I have no real discernable skills beyond talking).”
As for his successes? “I’ve been incredibly fortunate to find a path to doing play-by-play now at the highest level, whether it be the NFL for FOX Sports and Westwood One, college basketball for Fox, BTN and Westwood, the Final Four, etc. I wouldn’t trade the journey for anyone else’s path, but I wasn’t exactly a child prodigy!” He said. “Ian Eagle told me one time that the more people that can take credit for your career, the better your career has gone. I feel like a lot of people have played a role in this and I hope that they are happy that they were able to push me forward each step along the road.”
Did You Know?
Kugler hosted the Masters golf tournament for Westwood One in 2009 and 2010. He filed radio reports for the network from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
Kugler has been accused, as have most broadcasters that do national games, of hating YOUR team. He’s steering into the skid, so to speak, by putting that in his “X” bio. It’s legendary enough that there has been a parody account created, @KuglerH8sUrTeam.
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.
