College of Arts and Sciences

On this week’s episode of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s weekly radio program exploring the lives and work of the people on campus and beyond, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Kevin Leonard, PhD, interviews one of the nine alumni inducted into the 2021 Alumni Hall of Fame, Bill Land, who is currently the TV play-by-play voice of the San Antonio Spurs.

This episode of Segue airs at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24. Listeners can tune into WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound or siue.edu/wsie.

Land received a bachelor’s degree in mass communications in 1973 and has spent 18 years the San Antonio Spurs earning three NBA titles. His announcing career spans 17 sports, from basketball and baseball to water polo and power tumbling. From 1988-2016, he served as TV sports announcer and program host for Fox Sports Net, where he covered play-by-play in the Big XII Conference, Major League Soccer and Texas Rangers baseball. Other notable accomplishments from his more than 40-year career include serving as sports director at radio and TV stations in Wichita and Tulsa. During those years, he was the play-by-play voice of Wichita State University, Oral Roberts University and the University of Tulsa.

“Welcome to Segue, Mr. Land,” Leonard begins. “Tell us a little about yourself. Where did you grow up, and how did you end up studying mass communications at SIUE?”

“I grew up in DeKalb, Illinois, literally across the street from Northern Illinois University,” Land says. “And I was fortunate that my mom and dad stressed from the beginning that all five of their children were going to go to college. My mom was a college graduate, and my dad was not. While he had a good job for a number of years, he always felt that some of his opportunities to advance were very limited.”

Land reminisces about his childhood at eight years old delivering newspapers. “People would always ask me what I’d be doing with the money I was collecting, and I’d say, ‘I’m going to college.’”

“I played high school basketball and baseball, and wanted to continue to play in college, but I was not a great athlete. I knew at that time that I wanted to get into broadcasting or sports writing, and at that time there was no internet to research universities. I ended up going to Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg because they had a communications degree, and I thought I could play basketball. There were very few opportunities to get on the campus radio station.

“A friend of mine was from Edwardsville and told me about the incredible mass communications department at SIUE. When I visited, I met the then-chair of the department, Dr. Rider, who gave me more information, and that’s how I ended up here.”

“You mentioned you knew you wanted to be in broadcasting or journalism. What exactly was it about the field that appealed to you?” Leonard inquires.

“All of my family was big into sports,” explains Land. “I was attracted to listening to the radio with Major League Baseball, and I loved watching the games on television. Next thing you know I found myself while attending games, I would find a seat next to the radio play guy and looked over his shoulder at what he was doing. I thought it seemed like a pretty good job, and I ended up pursuing it.”

Land says his sister gifted him a tape recorder in junior high school, and he would record himself broadcasting games he attended.

“You mentioned Dr. John Rider, who we will discuss further in moment. Were there other specific individuals who inspired you during your time ere at SIUE?” asks Leonard.

“Yes, Barbara Tirre was a professor,” states Land. “At the time I wanted to major in broadcast communications and minor in journalism, and they didn’t allow that. I chose speech instead. She was a phenomenal teacher – very encouraging to all the students and pushed you to your limits. I’m always grateful for that.”

Tune in at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24, to WSIE 88.7 The Sound to hear the entire conversation.