WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jacksonville State's Mike Parris is simply the best in the state of Alabama.
The "Voice of the Gamecocks" has been named the Alabama Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association and will be honored at the organization's awards banquet in June.
Parris, a 2020-21 JSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, has called JSU sports in five different decades. The "Voice of the Gamecocks" for the past 40 years, Parris called his first JSU contest in 1983 and the 2022 football season marked the beginning of his 40th 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.
Over his 40-plus years of broadcasting, Parris has 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).
"Not sure that I'm deserving, but truly honored to receive this award," Parris said. "There are so many people to thank, so instead of trying to call names and leaving someone out let me say 'Thank you to all the people who I've worked with and that have put up with me through the years, coaches who gave me their time and made my job so easy, my fellow broadcasters and my family for being so understanding of the demands of the job.
"The people who also share in this are the fans. Whether listening for just a moment, jumping in and out or being there for an entire broadcast, I can't thank each of them enough. They all get a piece of this award!"
Parris has seen many of his calls broadcast across the nation, including Jacksonville State's 49-48 double overtime road win at Ole Miss in the 2010 football season opener and the Gamecocks' Hail Mary winner at Florida State in 2021. Both calls were featured on ESPN's SportsCenter and shared with sports fans across the globe.
He's called multiple NCAA Basketball Tournaments, including every play of the 1985 Division II National Championship run and two appearances in March Madness. Parris has been on the mic for numerous conference championships and NCAA Regional appearances in several sports, including the historic 2009 NCAA Knoxville Softball Regional championship and the 2009 Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
"What a great honor it is for Mike Parris to be named the Alabama Sportscaster of the Year," JSU Athletics Director Greg Seitz said. "He has done a great job of bringing so many memorable moments in JSU history into the homes of our fans over an incredible 40-year, Hall of Fame career. We're proud that he is being recognized with an honor that all Jax State fans feel he could've received in each of his 40 seasons behind our microphone."
The National Sports Media Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which seeks to develop educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports media, through networking, interning, mentoring, and scholarship programs.
The NSMA also honors, preserves, and celebrates the diverse legacy of sports media in the United States. Founded in 1959 as the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in Salisbury, N.C., the NSSA added its Hall of Fame in 1962, with Grantland Rice as its first member. The organization rebranded to the National Sports Media Association in 2016.
