Baseball Hogs Lose Their Voice – Chuck Barrett Steps Away from Mic

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Chuck Barrett, the Voice of the Razorbacks, has decided to step away from his baseball play-by-play duties after 23 seasons. Barrett, will still handle play-by-play responsibilities for both football and men’s basketball, broadcasted all three Razorback sports for the past seven years as well as served as Razorback Athletics’ Director of Broadcasting.

Barrett began his affiliation with Razorback Athletics in 1992 when he was hired to be the baseball play-by-play announcer. Barrett has been behind the microphone for every season of Razorback Baseball since Arkansas entered the Southeastern Conference. During that span, Barrett has called more than 1,250 games including some of the most memorable moments in Razorback Baseball history. During his span as a baseball broadcaster, Arkansas has made three College World Series appearances, 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and won two SEC regular season and four SEC Western division championships.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to broadcast Razorback Baseball for more than two decades,” Barrett said. “I have enjoyed watching the Razorback baseball program grow from its early stages in the SEC to the national prominence it now enjoys. I am appreciative to Coach Norm DeBriyn, Coach Dave Van Horn, the hundreds of Razorback players and all those associated with Razorback Baseball who helped make the past 23 years so enjoyable. I also owe my thanks to the various baseball broadcasting partners I have had through the years including Rick Schaeffer and Mike Nail. But most of all I am thankful to the Razorback Baseball fans who have tuned in night after night to follow their beloved Razorbacks.

“And while I have truly enjoyed each and every of the past 23 season, I decided it was time for me to step away from the baseball broadcasts. I sincerely appreciate the University of Arkansas and IMG working together to create a new role that will allow me to continue my affiliation with the Razorbacks as the play-by-play broadcaster for football and men’s basketball.”

Barrett will become an employee of IMG College, the University of Arkansas’ multi-media rights partner while continuing his work with the Razorback Sports Network. In addition to his football and men’s basketball play-by-play duties, Barrett will continue to host the football (The Bret Bielema Show) and men’s basketball (Full Court Press with Mike Anderson) television shows as well as weekly radio shows On the Air with Bret Bielema and Mike’d Up with Mike Anderson. Barrett will also serve as the host of various other Razorback Sports Network programming.

“We are grateful to Chuck for his extraordinary work with Razorback Baseball for the past 23 seasons,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “Chuck is a native Arkansan and loves the Razorbacks. For generations of fans around the state, Chuck has been the voice to describe some of the most memorable moments in Razorback history. He does an outstanding job and we look forward to his continued work in football and men’s basketball as well as on our coaches’ shows.”

Barrett, who has been named Arkansas Sportscaster of the Year three times, originally hails from Clarksville, Ark., and has been part of Razorback football radio broadcasts for 20 years in a variety of roles. He became the play-by-play voice of the Arkansas men’s basketball team at the start of the 2010-11 season, replacing Mike Nail who held the position for 29 years.

Barrett has been a staple on the air in Arkansas, including serving as a radio talk show host for Citadel Broadcasting for 15 years. IMG College, in consultation with the University of Arkansas will commence a national search for the position.

A collection of some of Barrett’s best baseball calls are here.

In other broadcasting news related to the Arkansas Razorbacks, ESPN has reached a multi-year deal with Dari Nowkhah to host the SEC Network and its weeknight news and information show, SEC Now. The deal comes on the heels of Nowkhah’s 10-year anniversary with ESPN, having established himself as one of college sports’ most versatile hosts. The 24-hour network devoted to the Southeastern Conference and operated by ESPN will debut on August 14, 2014.

“You would be hard pressed to find a sportscaster with more passion than Dari Nowkhah has for covering a range of college sports,” said ESPN’s Stephanie Druley, vice president, production, college networks. “He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that is needed for a network that will cover all of the conference’s 21 sports.”

Nowkhah began his career at ESPN on SportsCenter and has been the main anchor for ESPNU since 2011, hosting a spectrum of studio shows on the 24-hour college sports network. Most notable to SEC fans, he was the primary SEC Studio host for the syndicated college sports package (produced by ESPN Regional Television) for the last four years. He is well known across the country for his show CFB Daily on ESPNU and his radio show Dari & Mel co-hosted by NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper.

In addition to his leading role on SEC Now, Nowkhah will continue to contribute his college sports knowledge and expertise on the Dari & Mel show and other ESPN Radio opportunities throughout the year.

“The best thing about college sports is the passion of the fans, and top to bottom, there is no conference that matches the SEC in that category,” said Nowkhah. “To be a part of the SEC Network and continue my role with ESPN Radio is the perfect situation for me.”

SEC Now

SEC Now will debut on August 14, 2014 at 6 p.m. ET and air every Monday through Friday on the SEC Network. The weeknight airings will be televised from the SEC Network studio set in Charlotte. Set renderings (seen here) were revealed at SEC Spring Meetings.

SEC Now will be produced by Brad Buchanan under the direction of Coordinating Producer Pete Watters. Buchanan is an ESPN veteran working on SportsCenter and College GameDay and most recently producing College Football Live. Watters has more than 17 years’ experience and will oversee studio programming for SEC Network.

Additional SEC Network studio talent and programming details will be released at a later date.

Courtesy SEC NETWORK, ESPN