There’s no question that the sports broadcasting industry has gone through a seismic change in recent years and that has to do with the added emphasis on sports gambling and the industry really leaning toward younger people. But, depending on the situation, there is still a place for veteran and experienced broadcasters to still have a piece of the sports announcing pie, particularly as it pertains to play-by-play. For Tim Brando, that piece of the pie is still there as he recently signed a new three-year contract to call college football and basketball games for FOX Sports.
His new deal allows him to reach a couple of milestones that were very important to him.
“I wanted to get to 40 years on national television which I will in 2025,” said the 67-year-old Brando. “I wanted to see my career get to age 70 in a business now that is obviously driven more now by young people than people of my generation.”
In any line of work, the older you get the more there is a chance of not being able to do your job as well as you used to and there have certainly been examples of that over the years. But in sports broadcasting, there have been legendary voices like Al Michaels, who is still going strong. Storied announcers like Keith Jackson and Verne Lundquist were at the microphone for decades during their careers.
And you can put Tim Brando on that list as he still has the passion and excitement for what he does and still wants to do.
“I still believe I have a lot to offer,” said Brando. “I believe my fastball and my breaking pitch are as good as they’ve ever been in the booth and courtside at basketball so who knows. I’ve been at this a long time and I want to continue to do it at the highest level I can. When you get to this stage of your life and your career, your aspirations and your goals are more immediate than they are long-term.”
Brando’s began his sports broadcasting career at the local level as the assistant sports director of WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he called LSU Men’s and Women’s basketball games. He then moved on to ESPN in 1986 where he would call games and was the first host of College GameDay while also hosting SportsCenter and ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
In 1996, Brando joined CBS Sports where he was the host for College Football Today while also doing play-by-play for college football and basketball as well as NFL games from 1998 to 2003. His run at CBS ended in 2013 and that’s when he had some options including the opportunity to go to ESPN’s SEC Network.
It was June 2014 and Brando was still a free agent. That’s when he received a call from FOX Sports.
“They had asked me to come out and meet with everyone in management there,” said Brando. “We were that close to football season. I’m a free agent and I don’t know what I’m going to be doing in the fall of 2014. That’s as close as I’ve ever cut it as a free agent.”
As the saying goes, “There’s no place like home” and Brando would make FOX his new home.
“I really wanted to be a FOX guy,” said Brando. “That was really where I had my sights set. It would have been really tough if I had missed a college football season. I was really excited and I can’t believe I’m going into my 10th year. That’s amazing to me.”
It’s been at FOX where Brando has been able to complete his bucket list of calling college football games at iconic stadiums like the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, “The Big House” in Michigan and “The Horseshoe” in Columbus. Brando lists Curt Gowdy as his broadcasting mentor, but he considers Keith Jackson as his college football role model because if Jackson was at the microphone, you knew it was a big game.
“(Jackson’s) energy and his enthusiasm and his approach to the game was synonymous with the sport no matter what part of the country he was in,” said Brando. “That’s the way I wanted to be perceived. It’s a big game so Brando is there.”
Brando not only loves what he does but he also likes to share his experiences with young broadcasters and offer them some advice about the business.
After all, he’s been doing this for a while so if Tim Brando talks, you should listen.
“If you want to get into this business and be successful at it, you cannot just love the sport,” said Brando. “You’ve got to love the business and the business has a lot of landmines in it and can blow you up at any time. You have to navigate your way through some of those.”
And his other piece of advice…you don’t have to go 55 miles an hour all of the time.
“We’re guilty of wondering why we can’t do everything,” said Brando. “We want to do everything and we’re our own worst enemy. You have to have your eyes open and your head on a swivel. That’s part of the dilemma of the business. A lot of times, you can get lost when you start thinking about what’s next when what you have is already really good.”
And what Brando has now at FOX is really good for him. He signed his first contract extension with FOX Sports back in 2017. At the time, he knew his career was winding down and he said something that he is reiterating now with his new deal that runs through 2026.
“I said I can see the finish line here at FOX,” said Brando. “I meant it then and I mean it now. It’s the best place I’ve ever worked. They understand and appreciate for guys like us to do what we do. They put the game first which I think is awesome and the people I get to work with are tremendous.”
There are a lot of choices for sports fans when they turn on their television to watch a game. For a long time, Brando has been the voice of choice for college football and basketball fans and that is going to continue for three more years. After all, if it’s a big game, Tim Brando is going to be there.
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.
