Sooner Announcer’s Dream Job is Rooted in College Basketball

For Toby Rowland, the play-by-play radio announcer of the Oklahoma Sooners, the best part of his job is also the most challenging.

As a child, Rowland’s dreams were focused only on one thing: becoming a broadcast announcer for the Sooners. In 2011, Rowland did what so few are able to accomplish in landing his dream job—although he admitted working his dream job does come with some daunting challenges.

“The greatest and most challenging thing about this job is fully comprehending the magnitude of the seat I’m sitting in, including the men who’ve gone before me and how much trust has been put in me by Joe Castiglione and David Boren,” said Rowland. “What a treat, what an honor and what a thrill that is, but at the same time, what a challenge and obligation it is.”

In his role, Rowland calls games for most major OU men’s sporting events, including football, basketball and baseball. He said he enjoys the variety of sports he announces because each has their own unique style when it comes to announcing; however, Rowland said he maintains a soft spot for college basketball. The fast-paced nature of college basketball allows Rowland to be what he described as more poetic in his play calling.

“Basketball has always been my first love,” he explained. “It feels the most natural out of everything I call because I can relate a little better than the other sports to what is transpiring on the court.”

Even though Rowland has only been announcing Sooner games for a few years, he has already collected some favorite memories with the Sooner basketball team. Because of his deep love for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, his favorite memories thus far consist of the Sooners back-to-back trips to the tournament the past two years.

“It’s a dream come true,” added Rowland. “I’ve watched the tournament my whole life and here I am going to call a game.”

Like millions of Americans, Rowland said he continues to be consumed with March Madness, as he described it as one of the greatest spectacles in American sports. The bracket aspect of the tournament combined with its “one and done” nature creates drama like no other sporting event, he said.

Rowland’s roots as a broadcaster were grounded in college basketball as he played hoops for Southern Nazarene University in the mid-1990s. While his playing time may have been extremely limited, Rowland said the experience opened the door for broadcasting as he was asked to help form SNU’s sports information department. One of his first responsibilities was calling basketball games for the Bethany, Oklahoma-based University.

While Rowland learned a great deal from his Sooner broadcasting predecessor, Bob Barry Sr., he credited his time announcing SNU basketball games with Larry Mills as instrumental in teaching him the basics of the craft.

“Larry taught me the x’s and o’s and the technicalities of how you broadcast a game,” recalled Rowland. “He eventually stepped aside and let me do the play-by-play.”

While announcing at SNU, the University also added football and baseball programs. Rowland said having this experience in announcing all three sports proved instrumental in helping land the OU job in addition to his on-air work at KWTV Channel 9.

Of all the basketball seasons he has announced for the Sooners, Rowland admitted this season is proving to be one of his favorites. Throughout the season, the Sooners have enjoyed a top 25 national ranking and achieved road victories against their rivals, Oklahoma State University and the University of Texas.

“It’s fun when you can get a road win in someone else’s gymnasium that is colored orange,” he joked.

Rowland credited the current success of the Sooners to their vastly improved defense and their growing maturity. As a result, he believes the team is poised to make strong runs in both the Big 12 and NCAA basketball tournaments.

 

Photography by Emily Brashier