8-23-22
Moderator: Berry Tramel
Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist.
OU – Toby Rowland
Toby Rowland is set to begin his 11th season as the “Voice of the Sooners.” He serves as radio play-by-play for OU football, men’s basketball and baseball, as well as hosting Porter Moser & Jennie Baranczyk TV/Radio shows. Rowland also serves as TV host for a wide variety of programming on Sooner Sports TV.
A two-time Emmy Award winner, Rowland spent 12 years as a sports anchor, reporter and producer at KWTV in Oklahoma City. He won the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Award for best sportscast and the Society of Professional Journalists Award for Best Sports Reporting. Rowland became a household name in Oklahoma as host of the award-winning “Friday Football Blitz,” taking high school football coverage to a new level in the state.
Rowland’s play-by-play résumé includes serving as the “Voice of Southern Nazarene University” football, basketball and baseball, and as “Voice of the Norman Tigers.” Rowland also was a part of the Oklahoma RedHawks broadcast team for two seasons.
For the past 18 years Rowland has also hosted the “T-Row in the Morning Show” on KREF.
A 1995 graduate of Southern Nazarene University, Toby is married to his college sweetheart, Jennifer. They have three children: Trevor (23), Payton (21) and Chloe (13).
OSU – John Holcomb
John Holcomb plays a pivotal role as sports director of the News On 6 sports team. Holcomb began his career at News On 6 in November 1995 and has held the position of sports director since September 1999. You can find him anchoring the weeknight sportscasts for News On 6 at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. and co-hosting the statewide “Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz” with News 9 Sports Director Dean Blevins on Sunday nights. And, during high school football season, Holcomb also anchors the “Oklahoma Ford Friday Football Blitz” – Tulsa’s high school football show.
Holcomb attended Oklahoma Baptist University on a basketball scholarship, graduating with a degree in journalism in May 1988. He worked at radio station KGFF in Shawnee and at the Oklahoma News Network before becoming a news reporter at KXII-TV in Sherman, Texas in 1989. From there, he moved to KSWO-TV in Lawton to work as weekend sports anchor in April 1991. In January 1993, he was named sports director at KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas.
Today, Holcomb is entering his 16th season as the radio color analyst for OSU football and his 14th season as the analyst for OSU men’s basketball on the Cowboy Sports Network. He has also done play-by-play work for Cox high school football and basketball broadcasts.
Holcomb was named the Oklahoma Sportscaster of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2011 and 2019 by the National Sports Media Association.
Holcomb loves basketball, golf, tennis and, in his words, “about anything else that requires some coordination without total physical exhaustion.” He says, “My wife, Jeanna, and I fell in love with northeastern Oklahoma and the people who live here. It’s really a privilege to work in an area of the country where there are such quality people who just happen to be so passionate about sports.”
The Holcombs have two daughters, Melody and Maggie, and are members of New Beginnings Church in Bixby.
Chair of the Day
Gary Armbruster is a Principal Architect and Partner with local architecture and interior design firm, MA + Architecture. Upon graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s in Sociology and a Master of Architecture, Gary joined the MA+ team and has been leading educational facility design for over 26 years. His love of learning and children led him to become one of only six Accredited Learning Environment Planners in Oklahoma. Gary speaks nationally on education design related issues and is considered a national expert on school safety and security. He’s been married to his lovely wife, Julie for over 28 years and has three children, Nicolas, Matthew and Jacob.