Calling the shots: A Hokie broadcaster's slam dunk journey

The Virginia Tech women’s basketball season tipped off this week, and there’s a familiar voice at the broadcast table.

Evan Hughes ’21 — who grew up a Virginia Tech fan thanks to his father, who played soccer for the Hokies — is assistant director of broadcast services and the voice of the university’s women’s basketball and baseball teams.

Hughes found his calling as a sports broadcaster at only 12 years old. His outside-of-class experiences while a student were key to him landing this position with the Hokies.

When did you realize that sports broadcasting was your calling?

I always loved sports, but I knew at a young age that I wasn't athletic enough to play sports. I would do the morning announcements in elementary school, and I loved it. My mom also had a radio show of her own when I was a kid, so from doing the morning announcements and loving sports, that led to public address opportunities.

It all started at Rockville School Park. When I was in middle school, my sister had become a pretty good softball player and played on some competitive teams. One day, I walked into Rockville School Park the night before one of her games to watch her practice.

There were other games going on, with hundreds of people at this place, and I walked with a woman from the parking lot. She said, "We need a PA announcer. I know you know how to do announcements."

She walks me to the field, with both teams lined up and the umpires looking at me. She hands me the mic and says, "Go."

That whole summer, every game that my sister would play, I would track down the tournament director and say, "I want to be your announcer. I know it’s a job for an adult, but I am 12 years old, and I want to do it."

The saying - for the love of the game - that was public announcing for me.

How did the faculty in the School of Communication impact your college experience?

I owe so much to Professor of Practice Bill Roth. He's one of the most impactful people in my life. He's gone from the person I grew up listening to and idolizing as a kid, to professor, to mentor, to co-worker, to friend, and to the person I talk to on the phone more than anybody.

With all that he has going on in his life, he decided that I was worthy of his time and he was willing to help me get to where I wanted to go. Whether you're a broadcaster, a chef, you want to get into sales, whatever it is — you need people who want to invest in you and believe in you. And belief is such a powerful thing to have. He's believed in me from the time when my voice sounded like I was on helium and through some highs and lows.

The School of Communication just has dynamite professors that invest in you. When you get to those 3000 and 4000-level classes with 15 to 25 people, it almost feels like high school-sized classes. You get to know the professors on a one-on-one basis. They know what you like, they know what you want to do, and they want to help and invest in you.

What led you to start the student journalism broadcasting platform, 3304 Sports?

When I got to Virginia Tech, there really wasn't a way for students to broadcast games.

One night my sophomore year, I couldn't sleep, and I was just thinking. I got up out of bed, went to my computer and I started jotting down ideas of how we can get students on air. It was 10:30 p.m. on a school night, and I called Bill Roth to say, "We’ve got to sit down, I've got an idea." That is how 3304 Sports was started.

We were going to give students the opportunities to get on air and to call Virginia Tech sports from football all the way to soccer. We had an interest meeting in February of 2019, and I was the sports director. Our entire leadership team was composed of students and Bill. It's an extension of his play-by-play class, so he oversees it, but allows students to have leadership roles. We had that first broadcast in February of 2019, and now it has grown so much more than I ever could have expected.

I'm just so proud of the fact that we are welcoming to everybody, regardless of experience level. We want to give you that chance to try different things in the sports realm, from writing to podcasting to play-by-play to different forms of storytelling.

What internships helped you land your job at Virginia Tech?

I spent three summers in St. Cloud, Minnesota, working for the St. Cloud Rox minor league baseball team. It changed my life. I called almost 200 games over three summers, and it gave me the real-world experience that I needed. You've got 72 games in 77 days, and it truly is an everyday grind. It truly was the perfect marriage of my academic world and getting to learn at Virginia Tech with the opportunities I had here, and then to take that and apply it in a real-world setting.

Working for the Rox turned out to be one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I call Minnesota my second home. All these years later, it just continues to give through the relationships and the people that I met up there.

Bill Roth always says that a baseball stadium is the best kind of classroom, and it really is.

I interned with our Virginia Tech Sports Network for four years and had a relationship with the coaches. I was lucky that when I graduated, the job that I have now became open, so they say the stars aligned.

As a senior, you received the Jim Nantz Award, which honors the nation's top collegiate sports broadcaster. What was it like to receive that award?

It was one of the highest honors of my life. The Jim Nantz award has been around since 2009.

When I got to Virginia Tech, I wanted to win it. I truly mean it when I say my No. 1 goal of wanting to win it was for Virginia Tech. It was for our School of Communication.

To me, it was validation of all the different people who have poured blood, sweat, tears into going from a Department of Communication to a School of Communication and from sports media and analytics going from a concentration to a major. I have really felt that hopefully, by winning that award, I could give back to a place that had given so much to me.

What is a piece of advice for someone interested in broadcasting?

Just like a quarterback or a pitcher, they have to put time in to be really good at their craft – and that's no different for a broadcaster. The more reps that you can create for yourself, the more opportunities that you put a headset on, that you go to a press conference and transcribe, that you ask a coach a question, and that you write a recap, the better that you are going to get.

Find ways to create as many reps as possible for you in your four years in college, because when you graduate the most important thing is going to be your demo reel and your portfolio.

What is one takeaway from your student journey?

You’ve got to believe in yourself. There are going to be so many hurdles that come up, not just through broadcasting, but in life. You're going to have such highs, but there are going to be lows, too. There are going to be moments when doubt starts to creep into your mind, asking "Can I do this? Am I good enough? Am I going to find a job? Am I going to be happy doing this?"

There are so many hurdles that people might not see behind the scenes, but as long as you believe in yourself and see the vision that great things are going to happen, it will change your life. I wish I could go back and tell myself that a little bit more.

Written by Anastasia Simonenko, communications intern with the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences