(December 11, 2018) Ben Wilson has lived in the Columbia, MO market since graduating from the University of Missouri in 2015. Those roots have led Wilson to his new job as a sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster at KTGR, the local ESPN Radio affiliate.
Wilson will co-host a daily sports talk show, host a Saturday morning show and do play-by-play for Mizzou Olympic sports.
“I already had a good relationship with the majority of the on-air staff prior to the position coming open,” says Wilson. “Just by being in the know and understanding the job landscape of the market, I had a pretty good idea that the job would be coming open about a month before it actually did. Because of that, I had an interview lined up well before the position was officially posted, which obviously gave me a big edge over the other applicants.”
One advantage of the position is it allows Wilson to continue his burgeoning TV play-by-play career. “The big selling point was that they were willing to wave their usual non-compete clause, which will allow me to keep calling the SEC Network + and Fox Sports Midwest games, as well as any other freelance TV play-by-play opportunities that come up,” Wilson smiles.
The KTRG opportunity will ease the challenges Wilson faces as a freelance TV broadcaster. “It allows me the security of an on-air full-time position, while still having the ability to continue my freelance play-by-play,” he says.
Honesty was a key for Wilson in persuading KTGR to waive its non-compete clause. ” I was up front with the station that continuing my ESPN +, Fox Sports Midwest and SEC Network + play-by-play assignments was not only essential to my career development, but would also not interfere with my duties at the station. Obviously I was extremely grateful that they were willing to be so flexible and let me continue my play-by-play opportunities on the side.”
Wilson joined STAA his senior year in college. “I really appreciate how many network-level broadcasters have worked with STAA to share their career paths and give advice,” he says. “I’ve found it very helpful to hear first-hand from successful broadcasters in the industry, and have picked up a lot of useful things to apply towards my own career.”
(Visit Ben’s website).