Courtesy The New Philadelphia Times-Reporter

(December 31, 2010) Whether it be the high school sports play-by-play voice of the Dover-New Philadelphia area for WJER Radio or broadcasting University of Akron women’s college basketball, Bill Morgan is familiar with the audience he is broadcasting for.

That was until Wednesday night.

Morgan along with WJER mates Rob Brindley and Denny Trimmer were the voices for the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff as it took on Akron at the James A. Rhodes Arena in a men’s college basketball clash.

“It was a thrill just to do a Division I men’s college basketball game,” recalled Morgan, who has been the voice of the Akron women for the past four seasons. “We felt the broadcast went allright. I was more concerned with the technical stuff more than anything else.”

Morgan was summoned into action when the radio crew that normally covers the Golden Lions did not make the 18-hour journey to Northeast Ohio.

“I got a call Tuesday afternoon from the Akron sports information director and he asked me if I would be interested in doing the game,” said Morgan. “It was shortnoticed, but I got hold of Rob and Denny and we made it work. We did the game as if we had covered the team all the time.”

Thanks to the Internet, Morgan became very familiar with the Golden Lions as he boned up on everything about them prior to Wednesday’s tip.

He even conducted coach and player interviews Wednesday to be used during broadcast back to Arkansas on a 10-station network.

“The coach was very appreciative,” said Morgan. “I had to do some extra homework to prepare for the broadcast, but it was worth it.”

Arkansas-Pine Bluff made its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance last season as it won the play-in game against Winthrop and was subsequently bounced by eventual champion Duke.

Morgan was the play-by-play man with Brindley providing commentary and Trimmer pre, halftime and postgame interviews.

Ironically, Brindley worked as a photographer/reporter for the Pine Bluff Commerical newspaper in the early 1990s.

There’s no rest for Morgan this holiday season as he continues to do his morning show on WJER and broadcast the New Philadelphia-Massillon high school boys’ basketball game Thursday night.

This weekend, he’s off to Philadelphia as the Akron women take on Temple in a Sunday afternoon contest.

For the record, the Akron men defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 87-60.

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