Behind the voice of the Wolverines
If you turn the radio dial to ESPN 960 AM during a UVU men’s basketball game, the voice you will hear on the call for the Wolverines is Jim McCulloch. While the Wolverine broadcasts aren’t his main responsibility on campus, it is something that he takes great pride in.
Jim McCulloch was brought in to be the voice of the men’s basketball team at UVU six years ago. Photo courtesy of Jim McCulloch.
Although most of McCulloch’s experience has been in sports marketing, he was brought on six years ago to UVU to handle marketing and communication for the College of Technology and Computing and still happily fulfills his duties in that role. But when longtime voice of the Wolverines, Steve Watts started mulling retirement and Wolverine officials learned that he had experience in the broadcast field, the job was offered to McCulloch. He accepted, and he admits that broadcasting is somewhat of an addiction for him and anyone else in the field.
“It’s just an adrenaline rush,” McCulloch said. “And once you have that rush, you just need that fix. You just get addicted to it.”
Some of McCulloch’s fondest memories in broadcasting include calling an Auburn Tiger football game during Bo Jackson’s senior season and covering a golf tournament in the days of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. However, despite all that, McCulloch still hopes that his best broadcasting days are ahead of him.
“I haven’t had my pinnacle yet,” he said. “I’m still waiting for that one.”
One of the things that has impressed McCulloch about UVU is the incredible opportunity broadcasting students have to work for UVU TV helping broadcast basketball games.
“We have a new batch of students every semester who are producing these games on TV, and they do a miraculous job getting the product out,” said McCulloch.
Jim McCulloch, who is seen here calling a UVU basketball game in 2013 with Matt Peterson (left), says he hasn’t hit his pinnacle yet. Photo courtesy of Jim McCulloch
On the court, McCulloch believes that if UVU wants to make a name for itself in the country it will have to be through the athletics program. It’s already happening for the Wolverine soccer teams and McCulloch has confidence that new head coach Mark Pope has what it takes to put UVU basketball on the map.
“There is a world of difference between being an assistant and being a head coach and [Pope] is still trying to figure out how to be a good head coach,” McCulloch said. “But every game I see him taking step after step after step, learning more and more. I’m very optimistic about the job he’s going to be doing here at UVU.”
On any given night from November to March, if fans are unable to make it to the UCCU Center, they can turn to the radio to hear McCulloch giving a play-by-play of what’s happening on the court for the Wolverine men. UVU is a growing program and they are lucky to have a thorough professional like McCulloch getting his fix as the voice of the Wolverines.
I grew up on a farm in Burley, Idaho, but I’ve always had an intense love of sports. I’m studying journalism in an attempt to turn my love into a career. I’m a huge Utah Jazz, Tennessee Titans, and San Jose Sharks fan. If it’s a sport, I’ll watch it.