From Stands To Booth: Tim Hughes Is Excited To Be Utes New PA Announcer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah football team will have a new public address announcer during the 2019 season at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

KSL Newsradio morning host and Glory Kickboxing ring announcer Tim Hughes will take over the PA booth on home game days for the Utes.

He takes over as the new PA announcer after Mike Runge retired after many years on the job for Utah.

Hughes joined the Crimson Corner podcast to talk about the new job how his love for the Utes led to the new position.

Utes Fandom

Hughes attended college in Utah after being raised in Idaho. He has been a Utes fan since moving to the Beehive state.

“I would always watch the games at home because it was hard to take my young kids to games,” Hughes told the Crimson Corner podcast. “I would say that we were hardcore fans but were never able to get up to the games until a friend of mine, who eats, sleeps and breathes the Utes started to tailgate and he was looking for some people to tailgate with him.”

As Hughes’ kids grew older, he started to attend every tailgate during the season in any weather condition and would watch the games on television in the tailgate lot until four years ago when he purchased season tickets. He is using that experience of being in the stands with Ute fans as an advantage to his new job as the PA announcer.

“That experience of being in the north end zone with fans shoulder-to-shoulder, I think is going to help me behind the microphone because I know what it is like down there and I know what it feels like when a big moment happens. Hopefully, I will be able to carry that energy and that emotion through the announcer booth as well,” Hughes said.

Announcing Background

Through his radio career, Hughes had a time where he would work out of his studio doing voice work and other things before the 2002 Winter Olympic Games came to Salt Lake City. That year changed his life.

“Not only was I hired by NBC to do their bumpers and billboards for their cable stations, but I also got hired by the organizing committee to be the English voice at Medals Plaza,” Hughes said.

“It was the first time in the history of the Olympics where they had one central location to hand out the medals,” Hughes mentioned. “It literally changed my life.”

Hughes has now been a part of the every summer and winter Games since 2002 until he became the ring announcer for Glory Kickboxing eight years ago.

Hughes started with KSL Newsradio in 1988, hosting morning drive until 1993. He then returned to KSL and has been with the station in some capacity since 2001 and has been the host of “Utah’s Morning News” with Amanda Dickson for the last two months.