After spending the last four years as the play-by-play voice for Illinois State football and men's basketball, Mark Johnson emerged from a nationwide search to be hired as the play-by-play announcer for Syracuse football and mens basketball.
Were thrilled to have Mark and his family join the Syracuse community and the SU athletic family, said SU director of athletics Jake Crouthamel. We conducted a thorough search which included a number of quality candidates. Marks credentials, the quality of his work, and the potential he brings as a representative of our program made him the best candidate.
A three-time winner (1999, 2000, 2001) of the Silver Dome Award for best play-by-play broadcast in the state of Illinois by the Illinois Broadcasters Association, Johnson was the sports director and afternoon talk-show host at WJBC-AM in Bloomington, Ill., in addition to his play-by-play duties with Illinois State. He also served as an emcee for Illinois State banquets and other athletic events during his tenure.
Prior to that, Johnson worked for two years as the play-by-play announcer for the University of North Dakota football and basketball programs on KNOX-AM & FM, and for three years with WASK-AM & FM and WKOA-FM as a play-by-play announcer and talk-show host in Lafayette, Ind. Part of his duties included covering the Purdue University athletic program.
Ive been looking for a great place for my family and the opportunity to work for an athletic program that really mattered to its community, said Johnson. Ive been fortunate enough to have had the chance to look at other high-profile situations. We found Syracuse to be a very family-friendly city and the quality of the SU athletic program speaks for itself. Were excited to be on board.
Johnson succeeds Dave Pasch, who had been the play-by-play broadcaster for football and mens basketball on the Syracuse University Radio Network the past three seasons. Pasch was hired as the play-by-play voice of the Arizona Cardinals in May.
Johnson earned a bachelors degree in communications from the University of North Dakota in 1992. He and his wife, Susan, have two sons, Nicolas (10) and Jacob (5), and a daughter, Halle, (8).
The Johnson family was very active in the Bloomington-Normal community. Mark is on the board of directors for the Bloomington/Normal Sports Commission and the American Legion youth baseball program. Hes also been active in Special Olympics.
Susan has done charity work for the American Heart Association, sitting on different committees and co-chairing the organization's major fundraiser this past winter. Susan and Mark both serve as television hosts for the Easter Seals United Cerbral Palsy Annual Telethon that airs in Bloomington/Normal and Peoria. Susan is also the host of the weekly "Hearts At Home On The Air" program on WJBC, a Christian based, motherhood program for the Hearts At Home organization. She also serves as a workshop speaker during the groups national convention. She was named Miss North Dakota in 1989 and participated in the Miss American Pageant that same year in Atlantic City, N.J.
