Dari Nowkhah is no stranger to hosting a program on sports talk radio. For 14 years, he, alongside Mel Kiper Jr., hosted a weekend program on Saturday mornings for ESPN Radio simply called Dari and Mel. The content was structured around the biggest stories in sports from around the country to serve the hundreds of affiliates that carried the program for all those years. Last week, just a year removed from the last show of Dari and Mel, Nowkhah was announced as the co-host of a new morning show on The Ref in Norman, Oklahoma.
“Toby Rowland hit me up one day and said, ‘Would you ever have any interest in doing a daily radio show in Oklahoma?’” said Nowkhah. “I never really thought about it, but the in Oklahoma part of it kind of intrigues me.”
Nowkhah, a Tulsa, OK native, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 and has stayed up with all things Sooners in his role on the SEC Network. After 14 years of doing radio with Mel Kiper on ESPN Radio, and the last seven years on SiriusXM, a chance to do local morning radio sounded like a fun new venture when presented.
“The first thing we needed to do was go to ESPN and see if they’d even allow it, because they certainly have the right to say no,” Nowkhah explained. “They essentially made me the offer at The Ref. Ultimately, if ESPN said ‘alright, we can do it,’ then I was going to take the opportunity to do it.”
After a month of waiting for a verdict, Nowkhah received the green light from the network and his opportunity to return to Norman was official. Beginning June 30, Nowkhah and co-host Josh Helmer will be hosting a daily program from 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Central Time covering all things Sooners and Thunder.
“He (Helmer) does a great job,” said Nowkhah, who had only listened and never spoken to Helmer at the time of this interview. “I look forward to shooting the bull with him off the air and certainly on the air.”
Delivering A Hometown Sound Away From Home
With the new role, Nowkhah says his plan is to stay at his home in Charlotte, NC, as his role with ESPN and the SEC Network allows him full access to a plethora of information regarding the Sooners. Leaning on his relationships built through his alma mater and working for the network will help him keep up with all the happenings on a day-to-day basis, albeit he’s many miles away.
“I’m pretty dialed in there to do everything and I can watch anything,” noted Nowkhah. “Josh and I will talk and text every day, many times, to prepare for the show. It’s not going to be difficult in any way just because I’m not actually physically in Norman.”
Regarding his approach, Nowkhah understands that a program that appeals to the broader national audience that he spoke to on ESPN Radio for many years is different than the audience he will be speaking with on The Ref. He noted he’s never done local radio before on a daily basis, but is looking forward to the challenge of delivering content that appeals to the “REF Army” fanbase.
“You’re not talking sports for three hours every single day, and I’m good with that,” said Nowkhah. “It’s a very laid-back approach. In national radio, whether on SiriusXM or ESPN Radio, it’s you and your co-host. If you veer too far—especially on the ESPN Radio side—from sports for too long, you’ve got someone in your ear saying, ‘Let’s get back on track.’”
Reflecting On The End Of ‘Dari And Mel’
Referencing his 14 years of working on a show with Mel Kiper Jr. for ESPN Radio, Nowkhah joked that oftentimes he was the person in the ear of Kiper attempting to get their show back on track. Last May, the news of Dari and Mel ending their long-running radio program was surprising to many. Nowkhah called the move “sad” at the time the program was coming to an end. However, after over a decade on the air together, the show never got a look to crack the weekday lineup with all the other changes that have happened on ESPN Radio since 2010.
“Honestly, I never really wanted to,” said Nowkhah. “I never really had a conversation about doing a regular weekday show. Never had the desire to do it.”
When he worked in Bristol, CT for ESPN, the heavy workload of working multiple television shows and many late nights was not a workload that he desired. While beginning to build his family, Nowkhah says he never approached ESPN about the weekday lineup on the radio network, which they also, in turn, never approached him about the concept.
“I was totally good with a one-day-a-week thing, and frankly, I loved to work with Mel,” Nowkhah explained. “I know he never wanted to do five days a week. If they brought that show forward, it was never going to happen.”
Understanding What Makes Mel Kiper Jr. Special
Nowkhah says his relationship with ESPN’s lead NFL Draft personality means the world to him and believes the NFL Draft is not the massive event it has become without Kiper. He says that Kiper should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but in talking with Kiper about the honor, he notes that Kiper could not care less about being honored in Canton, OH.
Kiper was the focus of a flood of criticism following this year’s NFL Draft for his numerous and bombastic commentaries surrounding the fall of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Nowkhah says he hasn’t heard any of the criticism that Kiper received following the NFL Draft, recalling his work on the SEC Network during the event at the same time. While he says he doesn’t want to go back and watch how Kiper handled the moment, he understands how moments like that could happen with Kiper.
“His work is incredibly important to him,” Nowkhah noted. “If he believes a certain player is in some way being wronged or teams are just flat-out screwing up, he’s going to call that. It becomes a real passion of his, and sometimes maybe that passion leads him astray to a point where it becomes more than it needs to be.”
Nowkhah recalled when Kiper was high on Josh Allen when others weren’t, and Kiper wanted to make people around the country understand that his information on Allen was good information regarding his potential for the NFL. He believes that Shedeur Sanders is now the new Josh Allen for Kiper to potentially prove the doubters wrong again.
“Mel’s a passionate dude. He’s one of my favorite people on Earth,” said Nowkhah about his former radio partner. “Did he go over the top? He might have. Mel doesn’t care about making a splash and being the center of attention. In fact, that’s the most un-Mel thing in the world.”
Preparing For Boomer Sooner
Working alongside a passionate co-host to provide content to a passionate audience who care deeply about all things SEC, Nowkhah’s range of experience has led him back to where his dreams of working in broadcasting began. When a simple phone call from an Oklahoma legend spurred an idea that has now become reality, for Nowkhah, he’s excited to bring a quality national approach to a passionate local audience on The Ref where anything can happen at any time.
“In this market, on this station, I’ve noticed they’re not afraid to get off track,” joked Nowkhah. “Conversations can go in any number of ways, and I’m great with that. It’ll be a bit of a different vibe, but I’m looking forward to it.”
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.