Football broadcast team gets new play-by-play man

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 17, 2002 | by Tim Mimick

Jim Arthur, already the Air Force men's basketball radio announcer and a football pregame and postgame host, has become the definitive voice of Air Force sports by adding football play-by-play duties beginning this season.

Arthur will be joined in the radio booth during games by two color analysts, former coach Ben Martin and KKFN sports talk show host Irv Brown. Arthur replaced Mike Nolan, the football play-by-play announcer the past 15 years. Martin has been color analyst 15 years.

Jay Ritchie of KVOR and Arthur will retain duties in the pregame and postgame shows.

"It's an honor." Arthur said. "I'm thrilled by it."

Air Force wanted to spice up its football radio broadcasts. Among the candidates interviewed was former Air Force and Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Chad Hennings.

Nolan said he was told Arthur's Colorado Springs presence, he is Air Force flagship station KVOR's program director, would help boost the games in the local market.

"I got blindsided by this," Nolan said. "The change surprised me. But I still have a good relationship with Air Force and wish the Falcons the best.

"It's not the end of the world. I still have my job with Channel7 in Denver and they've been good to me, letting me set my schedule around Air Force football. In another year or two, I was thinking of retiring anyway."

Arthur became a part of the Air Force football broadcasts in 1991 with his pregame and postgame shows. He started traveling with the radio crew the next season. He began play-by-play duties on the men's basketball games in 1996. Last season, he helped Nolan announce the Air Force-Hawaii football game in Honolulu when Martin couldn't make the trip after a hospital stay.

Some schedule conflicts might arise for Arthur with the football/ basketball duties, but a solution isn't needed for at least four months. When Air Force played at Navy in men's basketball last season and Arthur was with the football team in Hawaii, the KVOR radio feed came from the Navy broadcast crew.

FASHION STATEMENT: Air Force is adjusting its football uniforms. Air Force is changing from Reebok to Nike in football. All other Air Force sports use Nike. The jerseys will remain the same, but the pants will no longer have the lightning bolt down each side. On the road, the blue pants will have a small lightning bolt on the upper left thigh. At home, the white pants will have a small "AF" on the upper left thigh.

The one-year deal - which pays Air Force less than $100,000 - marks the end of a seven-year relationship with Reebok. A multi-year Nike deal is expected to be signed late this year or early next year, Air Force vice director of athletics Brad DeAustin said.

- Tim Mimick may be reached at 636-0365 or tmim@gazette.com