Aug. 21, 2001
Former University of Kentucky football letterman Jeff Piecoro has been named the new analyst for the UK Football Radio Network, replacing Jeff Van Note. W. James Host, Chief Executive Officer of Host Communications, made the announcement Tuesday.
“We are really excited that Jeff is joining our broadcast team,” Host said.”He knows the game of football, he understands and loves the University of Kentucky and he has proven himself professionally in a major television and radio market the past several years. He did an excellent job during our interviews and auditions, and we are confident that he will provide the in-depth, quality analysis that has been a trademark of our UK football broadcasts.”
Piecoro is presently involved in broadcasting in the Cincinnati market. For the past five years, he’s handled play-by-play and analyst duties for Mid-American Conference games on Fox Sports Net’s Midwest regional telecasts. He’s also in his second season as the pre-game and post-game host on the Cincinnati Bengals’ Radio Network. In addition, he’s the host and backup play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds on Fox Sports Net Ohio and has spent three years calling Atlantic 10 basketball games on Fox.
“When we looked to replace Van Note, who in my book was the best in the business, we looked for someone with similar characteristics a former Wildcat who was comfortable behind the microphone providing insight on the game,” said Larry Ivy, UK’s Director of Athletics. “One name continued to surface during our search and it was Jeff Piecoro. We’re excited he’s coming on board and know he will be a great asset to (play-by-play announcer) Tom Leach.”
Piecoro played wide receiver for the Wildcats from 1980-84. The former walk-on from Lexington’s Tates Creek High School was redshirted as a freshman, then played in 1981 under Coach Fran Curci. He played his final three seasons under Jerry Claiborne, earning a scholarship his senior year. He was a member of both the 1983 and ’84 Hall of Fame Bowl teams. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1985 with a degree in telecommunications.
Piecoro began his broadcasting career in Lexington with WTVQ-TV and WLEX-TV. He’s also called games for Ohio University football and the Cincinnati Stuff of the International Basketball League while covering both the Breeder’s Cup and the Kentucky Derby.
— UK
