Craig Bolerjack

Last updated

Bolerjack in 2009. Craig Bolerjack in 2009.jpg
Bolerjack in 2009.

Kyle Craig Bolerjack (born May 16, 1958) is an American sportscaster. He is currently calling Utah Jazz telecasts on KJZZ with Thurl Bailey. He also calls games for CBS, ESPN, and CBS College Sports Network in a national broadcasting career that dates back to the late 1990s. [1]

Biography

Born in Willow Springs, Missouri, Bolerjack graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. He enrolled at Kansas State University and walked on to the Kansas State Wildcats football team as a linebacker, but left the team after fall camp due to an ACL injury. While attending college, he worked as sports director for the campus radio station KSDB. Bolerjack is also an alumni member of Delta Upsilon Kansas State chapter. He began his television broadcast career as a weekend sports anchor for KTSB-TV Topeka (now KSNT) before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah to work as sports anchor at KSL-TV, which included play-by-play announcing of BYU football and basketball broadcasts on the network. [2]

He and Steve Beuerlein were the secondary college football broadcast team for CBS Sports. They were on the air when two games were scheduled on the network on the same day. He also was a reserve broadcaster for the NFL on CBS . In 2006, Bolerjack filled in for Bill Macatee, who was on assignment for PGA Tour Merrill Lynch Shootout, on the Houston Texans-Jacksonville Jaguars matchup with Rich Baldinger. And, in 2007, he filled in for Greg Gumbel, who was filling in for an ill James Brown, on the Cleveland Browns-Arizona Cardinals matchup with Dan Dierdorf. He also worked with Todd Blackledge, Mike Mayock, and FOX colleague Daryl Johnston.

Bolerjack had also called games in the NCAA basketball tournament since 2000. [1] During the 2001 tournament, he called the four first-round games in Boise, Idaho, where all of them were decided by three points or fewer, including 15-seed Hampton's upset of second-seeded Iowa State.

Bolerjack called Pac-12 games on Fox Sports Net with Joel Klatt and Petros Papadakis in 2011 and continues to perform the same role for FX and Fox College Football , along with CBS and Fox colleague Gus Johnson. In 2011, Bolerjack filled in for Dick Stockton in the NFL on Fox TV broadcast booth for the week 4 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks with John Lynch. He was also the preseason voice of the Miami Dolphins until he was replaced by Stockton.

In addition to his other work, Bolerjack is the voice of the Utah Jazz. He replaced "Hot Rod" Hundley on the television broadcasts during the 2005–06 NBA season. [3] (Hundley continued to announce on the radio, but announced his retirement after the 2008–09 NBA season.) He initially ran the broadcast with color commentator and ABA legend Ron Boone. Former Jazz forward Matt Harpring joined the broadcast starting in the 2010–2011 season, when Boone moved over to the radio broadcasts. Since the start of the 2021–2022 season, the broadcast team has featured a trio of Bolerjack, former Jazz star Thurl Bailey, and veteran reporter and Utah native Holly Rowe. [4]

Bolerjack lives in Sandy, Utah with his wife, Sharon, and his three children. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah Jazz</span> National Basketball Association team in Salt Lake City, Utah

The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the team has played its home games at the Delta Center, an arena they share with the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). The franchise began as an expansion team in the 1974–75 season as the New Orleans Jazz. The Jazz relocated from New Orleans to Salt Lake City on June 8, 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Stockton</span> American basketball player (born 1962)

John Houston Stockton is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, and the team made the playoffs in all of his 19 seasons. In 1997 and 1998, together with his longtime teammate Karl Malone, Stockton led the Jazz to the franchise's only two NBA Finals appearances, both of which were losses to the Chicago Bulls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Malone</span> American basketball player (born 1963)

Karl Anthony Malone is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and a 14-time member of the All-NBA Team, which include 11 consecutive First Team selection. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behind LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he holds the records for most free throws made and attempted, and most regular season games started, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant and behind LeBron James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NFL on American television</span>

The television rights to broadcast National Football League (NFL) games in the United States are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any sport in the world. Television brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II. Since then, National Football League broadcasts have become among the most-watched programs on American television, and the financial fortunes of entire networks have rested on owning NFL broadcasting rights. This has raised questions about the impartiality of the networks' coverage of games and whether they can criticize the NFL without fear of losing the rights and their income.

<i>NFL on Fox</i> Television series

The NFL on Fox is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox broadcast network. Game coverage is usually preceded by Fox NFL Kickoff and Fox NFL Sunday and is followed on weeks when the network airs a Doubleheader by The OT. The latter two shows feature the same studio hosts and analysts for both programs, who also contribute to the former. In weeks when Fox airs a doubleheader, the late broadcast airs under the brand America's Game of the Week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Harpring</span> American basketball player (born 1976)

Matthew Joseph Harpring is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was formerly paired with play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack as the color analyst in broadcasting games for the Utah Jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Boone</span> American basketball player (born 1946)

Ronald Bruce Boone is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 13-year career in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Boone set a record for most consecutive games played in professional basketball history with 1,041 and claims to have never missed a game from when he started playing basketball in the fourth grade until his retirement. Boone is the current color commentator on Utah Jazz broadcasts.

College football on television includes the broad- and cablecasting of college football games, as well as pre- and post-game reports, analysis, and human-interest stories. Within the United States, the college version of American football annually garners high television ratings.

<i>Saturday Night Football</i> American sports television program

Saturday Night Football is an American weekly presentation of prime time broadcasts of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football games that are produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC. Games are presented each Saturday evening starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time/6:30 p.m. Central Time during the college football regular season, which has been the case since 2017. The ESPN on ABC Saturday Night Football coverage began in 2006, as both ESPN and ABC are owned by The Walt Disney Company. It is ESPN's biggest game of the week, and in most cases, the city and/or campus of that night's game is where that day's ESPN College GameDay had originated.

College Football on CBS Sports is the blanket title used for broadcasts of college football games that are produced by CBS Sports, for CBS and CBS Sports Network.

<i>Thursday Night Football</i> Branding for NFL games usually broadcast on Thursdays

Thursday Night Football is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Mowins</span> American sports journalist and announcer

Elizabeth Mowins is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She typically calls women's college sports, and became the second woman to call nationally televised college football games for ESPN in 2005. She began doing play-by-play for NFL games in 2017 and became the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game. In 2021, she became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Waltz</span> American sportscaster (born 1962)

Rich Waltz is an American television play-by-play commentator currently calling college football, basketball for CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network. Waltz also calls MLB for MLB Network's Showcase telecasts and Apple TV's Friday Night Baseball. The past two seasons he has filled in on TV for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Angels on Bally Sports. Waltz also called the Phoenix Regional of the World Baseball Classic for MLB Network and MLB International. A three-time Emmy winner, Waltz is formerly known for calling television broadcasts for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2017. Waltz's dismissal by Fox Sports Florida and the Marlins was criticized by fans and media. Over the past few years, Waltz has called MLB for MLB Network and Turner Sports, including the Cubs' Alec Mills no-hitter, the sixth MLB no-hitter he has announced. Waltz also called the 2020 AL Wild Card Series for TBS alongside Jimmy Rollins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Rowe</span> American sports announcer

Holly Rowe is an American sports telecaster for the ESPN sports television network, as a sideline reporter for college football and basketball games. Rowe made Utah Jazz history on October 22, 2021, as the team's first female commentator in a game against the Sacramento Kings

AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain was an American regional sports network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the network broadcast regional coverage of sports events throughout the Rocky Mountain region, mainly focusing on professional sports teams based in the Denver metropolitan area, Utah and Nevada.

The 1988–89 NBA season was the Jazz's 15th season in the National Basketball Association, and 10th season in Salt Lake City, Utah. During the off-season, the Jazz acquired Mike Brown from the expansion Charlotte Hornets. This season marked the arrival of assistant coach Jerry Sloan, who became a full-time head coach replacing Frank Layden, who retired from coaching after an 11–6 start to the season. Sloan would go on to coach the Jazz for 23 seasons, including two trips to the Finals in 1997 and 1998, and 19 playoff appearances out of 22 seasons, including 15 consecutive appearances from 1989 to 2003, and 4 more from 2007 to 2010 before he resigned midway through the 2010–11 season. The Jazz held a 28–20 record at the All-Star break, and finished first in the Midwest Division with a 51–31 record.

Root Sports Utah was an American regional sports network that was owned by the AT&T Sports Networks subsidiary of AT&T Inc., as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks and is an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout Utah, namely the NBA's Utah Jazz and college teams including the Utah State Aggies, Utah Utes, BYU Cougars, and several other schools. Root Sports Utah was available on cable providers throughout the state of Utah, and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV and Dish Network.

Until the broadcast contract ended in 2013, the terrestrial television networks CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as cable television's ESPN, paid a combined total of US$20.4 billion to broadcast NFL games. From 2014 to 2022, the same networks will pay $39.6 billion for exactly the same broadcast rights. The NFL thus holds broadcast contracts with four companies that control a combined vast majority of the country's television product. League-owned NFL Network, on cable television, also broadcasts a selected number of games nationally. In 2017, the NFL games attracted the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $699,602 for NBC Sunday Night Football, $550,709 for Thursday Night Football (NBC), and $549,791 for Thursday Night Football (CBS).

From 2014 to 2022, CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as cable television's ESPN, paid a combined total of US$20.4 billion will pay $39.6 billion for exactly the same broadcast rights. The NFL thus holds broadcast contracts with four companies that control a combined vast majority of the country's television product. League-owned NFL Network, on cable television, also broadcasts a selected number of games nationally. In 2017, the NFL games attracted the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $699,602 for NBC Sunday Night Football, $550,709 for Thursday Night Football (NBC), and $549,791 for Thursday Night Football (CBS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 BYU Cougars men's basketball team</span>

The 2022–23 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. In head coach Mark Pope's fourth season as BYU's head coach and the Cougars 12th and final season as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC) as they will begin as members of the Big 12 Conference in the 2023–24 season. The Cougars played their home games at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "CBS Sports TV Team: Craig Bolerjack". CBS Sports.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  2. "Deseret News: Bolerjack gets increased time at ESPN, drops Y. play-by-play". August 19, 1996. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  3. Doug Robinson (November 2, 2005). "Bolerjack's job not as easy as it looks". Deseret News. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  4. Brandon Judd (September 24, 2021). "ESPN, ABC veteran Holly Rowe joining Utah Jazz broadcast team". Deseret News. Retrieved January 2, 2024.