Wes Durham facts for kids
Wes Durham was born on January 25, 1966, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a famous American sportscaster. A sportscaster is someone who announces sports games. Wes is known for his exciting "play-by-play" announcing. This means he describes the action as it happens during a game.
He works for ESPN and the ACC Network. He announces college football and basketball games for them. Wes also used to be the main radio announcer for Georgia Tech football and basketball teams. He did this from 1995 to 2013. He is also the radio play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Falcons football team.
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About Wes Durham
Early Life and Education
Wes Durham grew up around sports broadcasting. His father, Woody Durham, was a famous announcer. He was known as the "Voice of the Tar Heels" for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 40 years. This gave Wes a special look at how sports broadcasting works.
When he was in high school, Wes worked as a disc jockey. He played music at a roller rink and for a radio station. He went to Apex High School. After high school, he attended Elon College. There, he learned more about broadcasting. He helped with the Elon Sports Network and worked at a local radio station, WBAG.
After graduating in 1988, Wes started his career. He was a radio announcer for sports teams at Marshall University and Radford University. Then, he spent three years working at Vanderbilt University.
Time at Georgia Tech
Wes Durham joined Georgia Tech in the fall of 1995. In 1997, he also became Georgia Tech's Director of Broadcasting. For many years, he worked with former Tech quarterback Kim King. After King passed away in 2003, Wes worked with Jeff Van Note and Rick Strom.
Wes was known for his energetic and exciting calls during games. Some of his most famous calls include:
- The thrilling football games between Tech and the Georgia Bulldogs in 1998 and 1999.
- Calvin Johnson's game-winning catch against Clemson in 2004.
- Will Bynum's game-winning layup in the Final Four basketball tournament in 2004.
- Nesbitt taking back his own fumble against Florida State in 2009.
Wes left his role at Georgia Tech in 2013. After he left, Brandon Gaudin took over his announcing duties.
Wes Durham's Broadcasting Career
Play-by-Play Announcing
Since the 2004 NFL season, Wes Durham has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Falcons. He does this in addition to his other jobs. In 2011, Raycom Sports started producing ACC college football games. These games aired on Fox Sports Net. Wes was chosen to be the play-by-play announcer for these games. This was because of his many years of experience working with the ACC. He worked with analyst James Bates.
Radio Host
In 2018, Wes Durham started hosting a radio show. It was called ACC This Morning on SiriusXM ACC Radio. His co-host was Mark Packer. In March 2019, it was announced that Wes and Mark would host a similar show. This new show, called Packer and Durham, airs on both SiriusXM and ESPN's new ACC Network.
