John Rooke
Encyclopedia
John Rooke is an award-winning broadcaster, and is a new inductee into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame. He currently serves in several broadcast capacities, including 22 years as the play-by-play voice for Providence Friars men's basketball
; Big East Conference
football and basketball play-by-play for ESPNU
, ESPN
Regional Television, and the IMG College Network; ACC football for IMG; stadium voice for the New England Patriots
and New England Revolution
; host for Inside the Big East and "Golfing The World" on ESPNU, Fox Sports Net and several regional sports networks and local TV stations; and talk host for the ESPN Radio
Network and WEEI
sports radio in Boston.
, Rooke also holds a position as adjunct professor in journalism at Emerson College
in Boston. Additionally, he works as a commercial voice artist. He has also served as a gubernatorial communications director, a program director/manager for a major communications company, and as a television sports anchor for 25 years in several markets.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas
, Rooke currently resides in Rumford, Rhode Island
- where he has been located since 1988. Among his previous duties and clients, he served as a Development Director for a local children's charity, A Wish Come True, Inc.. Rooke has also coached and officiated youth baseball for more than 20 years, including Little League, RBI and AAU teams.
As a play-by-play announcer for television and radio, John has called game broadcasts for these teams/leagues:
Providence Friars men's basketball
The Providence Friars men's basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition, in which they are a founding member of the Big East Conference. They play their home games at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island...
; Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
football and basketball play-by-play for ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Regional Television, and the IMG College Network; ACC football for IMG; stadium voice for the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
; host for Inside the Big East and "Golfing The World" on ESPNU, Fox Sports Net and several regional sports networks and local TV stations; and talk host for the ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
Network and WEEI
WEEI
WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
sports radio in Boston.
Personal life
A 1981 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, Rooke also holds a position as adjunct professor in journalism at Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in Boston. Additionally, he works as a commercial voice artist. He has also served as a gubernatorial communications director, a program director/manager for a major communications company, and as a television sports anchor for 25 years in several markets.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Rooke currently resides in Rumford, Rhode Island
Rumford, Rhode Island
Rumford, Rhode Island, is the northern section of the city of East Providence. It borders Seekonk, Massachusetts, Pawtucket, Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay....
- where he has been located since 1988. Among his previous duties and clients, he served as a Development Director for a local children's charity, A Wish Come True, Inc.. Rooke has also coached and officiated youth baseball for more than 20 years, including Little League, RBI and AAU teams.
Media background
Rooke's media background includes working for these broadcast stations/media companies since 1979:- KUT-FMKUT-FMKUT FM 90.5 is a listener-supported public radio station owned and operated by faculty and staff of the University of Texas at Austin. It is the National Public Radio member station for central Texas...
Austin; - KLBJ-AMKLBJ-AMKLBJ is a talk radio station broadcasting from Austin, Texas, USA. It was once owned by the family of Lyndon Baines Johnson, but is now owned by Emmis Communications of Indianapolis, Indiana...
Austin; - KTRH-AM Houston;
- KCEN-TVKCEN-TVKCEN-TV, virtual channel 6, is the NBC affiliate for Waco, Killeen and Temple, Texas. Licensed to nearby Temple, it is owned by London Broadcasting. It was founded in 1953 by Frank W. Mayborn, publisher of the nearby Temple Daily Telegram newspaper...
Temple/Waco; - KSAT-TVKSAT-TVKSAT-TV channel 12 is the local ABC affiliate television station in the greater San Antonio area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas. The station calls itself KSAT 12, pronounced as "K-Sat"....
San Antonio; - WOAI-AM San Antonio;
- KRNN-AM San Antonio;
- WPRI-TVWPRI-TVWPRI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts that is licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
Providence; - WJAR-TV Providence;
- WLWC-TV Providence;
- NESN;
- WLVI-TVWLVI-TVWLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
Boston; - WVIT-TV Hartford;
- WCBS-TVWCBS-TVWCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
New York; - WPRO-AM Providence;
- WSKO-AM/FM Providence;
- WEEIWEEIWEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
Boston; - WAMG-AM/WLLH-AM Boston;
- WEEI-FM Providence;
- Cox CommunicationsCox CommunicationsCox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, Rhode Island; - ESPN RadioESPN RadioESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
Network; - ESPNUESPNUESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
; - ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Regional Television; - ISP Sports Network
As a play-by-play announcer for television and radio, John has called game broadcasts for these teams/leagues:
- Texas High School Football (Central & South Texas);
- Texas Longhorns women's basketballTexas Longhorns women's basketballThe Texas Longhorns women's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference.The team has long been a national power in women's basketball. Under head coach Jody Conradt, the second NCAA Division I basketball coach to win 900 career games , the...
; - San Antonio SpursSan Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
; - San Antonio Dodgers (now Missions);
- UTSA RoadrunnersUTSA RoadrunnersThe UTSA Roadrunners is an athletic program that represent the University of Texas at San Antonio . The UTSA Roadrunners are also commonly referred to as "UTSA", Roadrunners,or simply as "Runners" . The Roadrunners compete in the NCAA Division I Southland Conference in 17 varsity sports...
; - Trinity TigersTrinity TigersThe Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The school mascot is LeeRoy, a Bengal Tiger...
; - San Antonio GunslingersSan Antonio GunslingersThe San Antonio Gunslingers were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas that played in the USFL in 1984 and 1985. Rick Neuheisel was the team's quarterback and only recognizable name. The team played in Alamo Stadium...
(USFL); - St. Mary's UniversitySt. Mary's University, TexasSt. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...
Rattlers; - Providence FriarsProvidence FriarsThe Providence Friars is the name of the athletic teams of Providence College. They compete in the Big East Conference for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compete in Hockey East and in women's volleyball, where they compete in the America East Conference...
; - Pawtucket Red SoxPawtucket Red SoxThe Pawtucket Red Sox are the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and belong to the International League...
; - Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(NESN); - New England RevolutionNew England RevolutionThe New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
(MLSMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
); - Boston College EaglesBoston College EaglesThe Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. They compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Hockey East. The women's crew team competes in the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing...
; - Big East ConferenceBig East ConferenceThe Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
(football, basketball, soccer); - URIÚriÚriis a village and commune in the comitatus of Pest in Hungary....
Rams (basketball); - Brown BearsBrown BearsThe Brown Bears is a name shared by all sports teams at Brown University, a university located in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 37 National...
(football); - Atlantic Coast ConferenceAtlantic Coast ConferenceThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
(football)