Hall of Fame
Parris joins JSU’s Athletics Hall of Fame after calling JSU games in five different decades. The “Voice of the Gamecocks” for almost 40 years, Parris called his first JSU contest in 1983 and the 2021 football season will mark the beginning of his 39th year of serving as the lead announcer of Jacksonville State sports. He’s handled all the play-by-play duties of the Jacksonville State radio broadcasts for decades.
Over his 38-plus years of broadcasting, Parris called some of the most historic and memorable games in Jacksonville State athletics history. He has called five Jacksonville State national title championships – football (1992), basketball (1985) and baseball (1990, 1991), plus three other national title games in football (1989, 1991 and 2015).
His call of Jacksonville State’s 49-48 double overtime road win at Ole Miss in the 2010 football season opener was broadcast all over the country, and was featured as the lead-in to ESPN’s SportsCenter and was also featured on ESPN’s College Game Day. He’s called numerous OVC Championships and NCAA Regional appearances in several sports, including the historic 2009 NCAA Knoxville Softball Regional championship and the 2009
Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
In 2012, he earned the OVC Media Award, which is an a award to recognize the media members who perform their jobs in a fair, consistent and accurate manner, provide all-around coverage for a variety of sports and demonstrate the ability to go above and beyond their normal beat or job description.
