University:
Texas Tech

My Space: Ryan

Sunday, February 4, 2001
© 2001 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Ryan Hyatt
Voice of the Lady Raiders still finds fun in his job

By WILLIAM KERNS
A-J Entertainment Editor

That's the now-familiar signature recited by KKAM (1340 AM) program director Ryan Hyatt at 5:07 p.m. weekdays, when "The Williams and Hyatt Show" finds this radio veteran and A-J sportswriter Don Williams teaming up for two hours of sports talk.

"I'm proud to be from West Texas. My opening is an in-joke, because I do believe that there are a lot of people who, deep down, wish they lived here.

"Regardless, wearing boots and jeans down in St. Thomas was a lot of fun."

That trip to the Virgin Islands was no vacation. Hyatt was there in late 2000 covering the Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball team's participation in tournament action.

Yet there's no hint of a smile when Hyatt, 31, gives the impression that vacations could never be as much fun as his job. And he's not kidding.

One of sports' more knowledgable, good-natured and smooth broadcasters — and one still thrilled to be working in his hometown — Hyatt is as comfortable as the voice of the Lady Raiders and working color for Tech baseball as he is making off-the-cuff comments on his sports talk show.

The quips aren't scripted; neither are those quick references to past teams and players he seems to pull out of thin air.

Scott Parsons, general manager at Clear Channel Radio and Hyatt's boss, said, "As a sports talk show host, Ryan can be real supportive of an issue or real condescending of an issue; he can take things any direction he wants and create riveting sports talk. And no one can argue with the excitement he generates at Lady Raiders games."

Both Parsons and Lady Raiders basketball head coach Marsha Sharp also mention that players should be wary before challenging Hyatt to a game of Trivial Pursuit. "It's sort of like working with a sports encyclopedia," said Sharp. "I can't imagine meeting another person who knows as much about sports.

"I also have to say that Ryan works really hard at what he does. He's diligent and passionate about his profession."

Hyatt, who says that he's just as opinionated about politics and music as he is about sports, pooh-poohs talk of encyclopedic sports knowledge — then quotes former Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson when asked about the key to making sports talk work.

He said, "A third of the people are going to hate you, a third of the people are going to like you. Just keep the other third away from the people who hate you."

Hyatt, the son of a high school coach, was born in Amarillo. His family moved to Lubbock in 1979. He became interested in a broadcasting career, he says, "when it became evident that the Dallas Cowboys would not look to me as a replacement for Steve Pelleur."

He played quarterback for the Coronado High School junior varsity, now reflecting, "I was a pitiful athlete and, eventually, I found it was safer doing debate and speech. In fact, I owe a great deal to Jackie Jarrett, my speech teacher."

He still remembers his first time behind a microphone at a sports event. He was a college student helping cover a basketball tournament. "I think Prairie View A&M was playing," said Hyatt. "I was doing color. As I recall, I said three things all night. I nodded a lot."

But he also recalled the adrenalin he felt that same night. "It was like when I was playing. You can talk all you want, but when the game begins, you have to perform. You have a blank easel. You don't know how it will turn out."

Hyatt paid his dues not just at Tech, where he alternated as a deejay and sports broadcaster for KTXT (88.1 FM), but also broadcasting games on KJAK-FM. "High school volleyball, Tech volleyball, high school football, six-man football. I think I called every sport.

"I broadcast games from a lot of places in West Texas that were so small they didn't look like they had phones."

His break at Tech, he joked, arrived "because I was the person at home. When they needed someone for a (KTXT) shift and they started calling people, I was always the one at home. Seriously, I still consider myself very lucky. I was given a chance. I also was exposed to the business end (of radio) and discovered that I liked that, too."

Hyatt has worked as the voice of the Lady Raiders since the fall of 1991, with the exception of the 1992-93 season, when a competing station negotiated for broadcast rights. That, of course, was the season that saw the Lady Raiders win the national championship.

"Time has eased the pain," he mentioned with a grimace.

Yet he wears a 1998 Lady Raiders Big 12 Championship ring on his right hand. "They had some left over," he quips, "so Marsha gave me one."

Sharp countered, "Ryan travels with us every time we leave town and he's unbelievable about how he handles that. He is helpful when he needs to be, and is in no way intrusive. Because he's with us for shoot-arounds and pre-game meals and travel, he knows a lot of things about our players. He has a lot of information, and he takes good care of that information.

"I always have had so much respect for the way he handles this. That's one reason he has the ring. And no, we didn't have extras. Ryan has been a big part of helping us build fan support. Right now our fans would feel lost if he were not calling the games."

Hyatt calls himself a Lady Raiders fan who tries to avoid coming across as "a homer" on the air. "You'll never hear me use the word 'we.' Because I'm not playing, I'm not out there sweating, I'm not the one making or missing the shot and having to live with it.

"Credibility depends on me being honest. Everything is not always going to rosy. The team will have some bad games."

He emphasizes that he is in the entertainment industry and, while he also has favorite teams and athletes, says that many give sports more import than it deserves. "There are guys out there obsessing over whether Jerry Jones will take the cap hit and sign (Troy) Aikman again. And I'm thinking, if you took that same energy and put it into helping your kids with their school work..."

Hyatt has the goods to broadcast in larger markets, but does he want to? "Had you asked me that five years ago, my answer might have been different," he began. "Now it might depend more on opportunity in which market, and with which team. I mean, would I really want to broadcast 96 Tampa Bay Devil Rays losses?

"Look at it this way: The Lady Raiders are winners in a national spotlight. They play in the new United Spirit Arena, there are 15,000 enthusiastic fans at games, it's the Big 12 and it's exciting."

Indeed, Hyatt says more than once that he feels privileged and lucky to be able to do what he loves in his hometown, with family and friends nearby. "And the cool thing is that, no matter what happens all day, I know at 5:07 p.m. I'm going to have fun for two hours."

So is he where he really wants to be. "Absolutely!" he fairly shouts with a smile.

"But please don't tell people I always win at Trivial Pursuit. Actually, I lose all the time."