Veteran radio broadcaster and STAA client Beau Spencer is joining the Western Illinois University Leatherneck Sports Network. An award-winning broadcaster with the Illinois Broadcasters Association, Spencer will serve as the play-by-play voice for Leatherneck football and will broadcast men’s and women’s basketball games.
He will also continue work on building the Leatherneck Sports Network radio affiliate membership.
“We are fortunate to have Beau Spencer join the Athletics Department as the ‘Voice of the Leathernecks’. Beau created an impressive broadcasting schedule of high school sporting events with play-by-play experience at the collegiate level. He is a well-recognized personality in the region who does an outstanding job calling the game for fans,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Tim Van Alstine. “Our goal is to expand the Leatherneck Sports Network. Beau is working on doing just that so our fan-base throughout the state and the tri-state area can listen to the Leathernecks.”
Spencer has worked the last 10 years in the region calling college and high school football and basketball games, high school volleyball, baseball and softball contests. Since 2008 he worked as the Sports Director for the radio stations in the Monmouth/Galesburg area (WAIK, WMOI, WRAM). Spencer served as the Monmouth College play-by-play announcer, called Monmouth-Roseville HS boys basketball and nearly half of the girls schedule in addition to other area high school basketball games.
In 2008 he received the Illinois Broadcasters Association runner-up award for ‘Best Play-by-Play’. In 2004 and 2005 he was chosen first place in ‘Best Community Service’ by the IBA. Spencer also received a first place award for ‘Best Local Morning Show’.
Two years ago, Spencer created the Illinois High School Sports Network (www.ihssn.net) as a source for all Illinois high school athletics. During his first two months broadcasting part-time, Spencer’s broadcast ranked in the ‘Top 10’ among listeners on Network1sports, among 250 radio stations.
He founded the IHSSN Coaches Polls (football, boys basketball, girls basketball), served as a newspaper correspondent, sports columnist, and created his own blog “The Quest 2: 150”. Spencer chronicled his time broadcasting 150 high school basketball games during the 2010-11 season. The Quest was published in Sports Illustrated online, WGEM-TV and five regional newspapers.
He worked as Sports Director for a group of radio stations in the Macomb/Rushville area (WKAI, WLMD, WLRB, WKXQ) from 2003-08. Spencer added a High School ‘Athlete of the Week’ for three schools, created an All-Area team and redesigned a local sports website. He added Macomb High School girls basketball broadcasts to the stations’ schedule.
In 2001 Spencer entered the broadcasting field when he was hired as Sports Director for WHHK/WGEN sports, first serving as board operator and within six month taking over as the director. He scheduled high school sports broadcasts and called play-by-play in addition to daily sports duties.
“I am excited to join the Department of Athletics at Western Illinois University and work alongside many people I have known for several years, both at the university as well as potential radio affiliates,” said Spencer. “I am eager to build upon a nice base that has been created in the Leatherneck Sports Network, and expanding it to reach the western Illinois region and beyond.”