University of Massachusets Athletics
Behler To Call Boise His New Home
July 01, 2008 | General
July 1, 2008
Bob Behler's first professional radio job came in 1980, when the then-high school junior in Stockton, Calif., called prep state playoff basketball games at the Oakland Coliseum.
The gig paid just $35.
But Behler was hooked.
A quarter century of broadcasting games later, Behler's career has carried him to Boise and Boise State. Behler has agreed to a two-year contract with Peak Broadcasting to call play-by-play for Broncos' football and men's basketball games for KIDO (580 AM). No color analyst has been named.
"There's nothing I enjoy more than spending a Saturday afternoon calling a basketball or football game," Behler said Monday from Massachusetts, where has has called UMass games for the past nine years.
Behler (pronounced BEE-ler) replaces Paul J. Schneider, the longtime voice of the Broncos, who called games for 35 years for KBOI (670 AM). Peak won the radio rights from Citadel, which owns KBOI, in April, effectively ending Schneider's tenure and an era in Bronco athletics.
For some fans, Schneider is the only voice they've heard call Boise State games.
"I am honored to follow in his footsteps. I hope I'll be as blessed with the success of the team as he was,'' Behler said. Behler, 45, attended the University of Georgia in the early 1980s, earning a degree in broadcasting. From there he has followed his broadcasting dreams to minor-league baseball's Chattanooga Lookouts (1985-86) to Bucknell University (1986-99) and UMass (1999-present).
Behler has won The Associated Press' award as the top play-by-play announcer in Massachusetts and Rhode Island seven times, including the past six years.
"He's a professional," Peak senior vice president Kevin Godwin said. "He's a student of his profession and really has done it for a very long time."
It's a profession Behler decided on long ago.
Former BSU track and field coach Randy Mayo attended Lincoln High (Stockton, Calif.) with Behler and took his friend around town during Behler's interview over the weekend.
"He was one of those guys who said, `I want to do play-by-play work for some big network.' It's been his dream ever since I can remember," Mayo said. "He has one of those type voices. This is what he was destined to do."
Peak received more than 200 applications for the job, and whittled the list down to 15 semifinalists, Godwin said. Peak and Boise State officials, including athletic director Gene Bleymaier, then interviewed four finalists on campus.
Behler was not among them.
Peak, which has a two-year contract with Boise State, made offers to two candidates: University of Vermont broadcaster Dave Koehn, who accepted a job at the University of Virginia, and an unnamed broadcaster who chose to remain on the East Coast for family reasons.
Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, who has done play by play in the NFL and college and hosts a talk show in Southern California, also was interviewed on campus, Godwin said.
Godwin originally wanted to make a decision by June 20.
"We had some bumps along the way. We had some incredible talent, and it was a very difficult decision," Godwin said. "It worked out for the best. At the end of the day, we got the guy."
Behler did not interview on campus until Thursday -- in part because of scheduling conflicts. Behler, who is single, attended a wedding in San Diego and a wedding anniversary party for his parents in Lake Tahoe during the period of finalist interviews. He stayed in Boise through Sunday and was offered the position Sunday night.
"We interviewed all the candidates and Bob was definitely our choice," Bleymaier said. "He's got a great cadence and a very exciting delivery. He will do a tremendous job. People will like him."
Behler -- who had been to Boise three previous times to cover the NCAA Track and Field Championships and the NCAA men's basketball tournament -- quickly decided it was a place he'd like to be.
"It's a school that has had great teams and great success," said Behler, who was impressed with the expansion of Bronco Stadium. "The town is absolutely gorgeous. It's clean. The air is fresh."
In addition to calling games, Behler said he would do Boise State reports on Peak's stations, work with clients and help the company with its affiliates. At UMass, Behler managed the school's radio network. While leaving Amherst and UMass was difficult,
Behler said this chance was one he had to take.
"It's too good an opportunity at too good a school with too good an athletic program," Behler said. Behler's first broadcast will be the Broncos' season-opening football game against Idaho State on Aug. 30.