Johnson Named "Voice of the Orange"
7/16/2002 10:03:47 AM | Football
“We’re thrilled to have Mark and his family join the Syracuse community and the SU athletic family,” said Crouthamel. “We conducted a thorough search which included a number of quality candidates. Mark’s credentials, the quality of his work, and the potential he brings as a representative of our program made him the best candidate.”
A three-time winner (1999, 2000, 2001) of the Silver Dome Award for best play-by-play broadcast in the state of Illinois by the Illinois Broadcasters Association, Johnson was the sports director and afternoon talk-show host at WJBC-AM in Bloomington, Ill., in addition to his play-by-play duties with Illinois State. He also served as an emcee for Illinois State banquets and other athletic events during his tenure.
Prior to that, Johnson worked for two years as the play-by-play announcer for the University of North Dakota football and basketball programs on KNOX-AM & FM, and for three years with WASK-AM & FM and WKOA-FM as a play-by-play announcer and talk-show host in Lafayette, Ind. Part of his duties included covering the Purdue University athletic program.
“I’ve been looking for a great place for my family and the opportunity to work for an athletic program that really mattered to its community,” said Johnson. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the chance to look at other high-profile situations. We found Syracuse to be a very family-friendly city and the quality of the SU athletic program speaks for itself. We’re excited to be on board.”
“Three years ago we embarked on a new strategy with our media properties,” said Crouthamel. “We conducted a national search at the time and the result was the hiring of Dave Pasch. The results of that process convinced us to follow a similar path with this search.
“We utilized our excellent alumni network and the resources of our media rights partners, Learfield Communications and International Sports Properties. Once again, our program has attracted a national-caliber talent.”
Johnson succeeds Dave Pasch ‘94, who had been the play-by-play broadcaster for football and men’s basketball on the Syracuse University Radio Network the past three seasons. Pasch was hired as the play-by-play voice of the Arizona Cardinals in May.
“We had contact from close to 100 individuals,” noted Michael Veley, associate director of athletics for external affairs. “In Mark we’ve found someone who will certainly maintain the high standard of announcing our fans have become used to.”
Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of North Dakota in 1992. He and his wife, Susan, have two sons, Nicolas (10) and Jacob (5), and a daughter, Halle, (8).
The Johnson family has been very active in their community. Mark is on the board of directors for the Bloomington/Normal Sports Commission and the American Legion youth baseball program. He’s also been active in Special Olympics.
Susan has done charity work for the American Heart Association, sitting on different committees and co-chairing the organization's major fundraiser this past winter. Susan and Mark both serve as television hosts for the Easter Seals – United Cerbral Palsy Annual Telethon that airs in Bloomington/Normal and Peoria. Susan is also the host of the weekly "Hearts At Home On The Air" program on WJBC, a Christian based, motherhood program for the Hearts At Home organization. She also serves as a workshop speaker during the group’s national convention. She was named “Miss North Dakota” in 1989 and participated in the Miss American Pageant that same year in Atlantic City, N.J.
The SU Radio Network includes nearly 25 stations in New York, New Jersey and Vermont.
