(April 12, 2016) Not long after Indiana native Colin Bowles accepted a TV job in West Virginia last summer, tragedy struck. That circumstance moved Bowles to want to be closer to his family and now he’s heading back to the Hoosier state. An STAA member, Bowles is joining WLFI in West Lafayette as a sports reporter, videographer and fill-in anchor.
“WLFI is such a unique market for sports. You are drenched in Purdue athletics, and after dreaming of playing basketball for them, this was the next best thing. I will have a bone to pick with Matt Painter for not offering me,” Bowles laughs. “I took a visit there when I was in high school.”
In August, Bowles accepted a sports job at WVVA in Bluefield, WV and he and his girlfriend Becca Rockey moved East. Less than five months later, tragedy hit. On December 10th, Rockey was killed in a DUI accident in downtown Indianapolis. Her death came less than two years after Bowles lost his mother Beth to cancer.
RELATED: Bowles is launching the “My Eyes Are Up Here” charity to raise money for the IWIN Foundation, supporting Indiana women in need. Learn more here.
“I always knew I wanted to get back to Indiana, I love the Hoosier state and I love the sports aspect of it. But when something like that happens, you have to take care of yourself. I knew that I had to be home close to friends and family. It is just something I need in my life right now,” says Bowles.
STAA sent the WLFI opening to members on February 24th but Bowles already knew about it. He had already been in contact with the station about other opportunities. When the sports job opened, they contacted Bowles. “That just shows that making friends in this business is extremely helpful,” he says.
Bowles, a 2015 graduate of the University of Indianapolis, appreciates how welcoming the WLFI staff has been. When I walked in there for my interview I could just tell. [Managing News Editor] Jeff Smith is wonderful and [Sports Director] Rob Hughes was so down to earth it was incredible. I just knew it was a right fit. And after how warming they were when Becca died, I knew it was all true and not just your classic recruiting visit shenanigans.”
Read more about Colin’s story here.
(Visit Colin’s website).