One of largest DII radio networks makes comeback

By Brian Ramsey | OBU Sports Information

ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist University again will have one of the largest radio networks in NCAA Division II with Ouachita Football Network stations covering most of Arkansas along with parts of Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Louisiana.

Ouachita is the only college football program in the state — at any level — that has posted 13 consecutive winning seasons. The Tigers have won three of the past four Great American Conference championships and have a 40-4 regular-season record the previous four seasons.

Ouachita will open its 2022 season at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 1, on the road at Oklahoma Baptist University. The broadcast will begin at 5 p.m. with the Baptist Health Tiger Countdown to Kickoff program.

Ouachita has a new flagship station for 2022. It’s KARN-FM, 102.9 in Little Rock, one of the state’s best-known radio stations. The complete list of stations for the Ouachita Football Network includes:

KARN-FM, 102.9, Little Rock (flagship)
KESA-FM, 100.9, Eureka Springs
KCXY-FM, 95.3, Camden
KILX-FM, 102.1, De Queen
KQOR-FM, 105.3, Mena
KNAS-FM, 105.5, Nashville
KZNG, AM 1340, FM 97.9 and FM 105.5, Hot Springs
KTPB-FM, 98.1, Pine Bluff
KHGG-FM, 103.5, Fort Smith

Visit Hot Springs will again be the presenting sponsor of the Ouachita Football Network. Other sponsors are Dairy Queen, the Church at Rock Creek, Baptist Health, Two Rivers Credit Union, Arkadelphia Clinic for Children & Young Adults, Southwest Auto, the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Southern Bancorp, Jim Stilwell Insurance, Taylor King Law, Legacy Termite & Pest Control, Bank OZK, Ouachita County Medical Center and First Community Bank.

Rex Nelson of Little Rock returns for his 39th season of play-by-play, marking him one of the longest-serving college play-by-play announcers in the country. He will again be joined in the broadcast booth by Dr. Jeff Root, who has provided analysis for most of those previous 38 seasons.

Nelson, one of the state’s best-known writers and speakers, serves as the senior editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He was inducted in 2016 into the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. The broadcast booth at Cliff Harris Stadium was named in his honor in 2015.

Root is the dean of Ouachita’s School of Humanities and School of Education. He has served as the football play-by-play announcer for Arkadelphia High School for more than three decades. Nelson and Root grew up within a block of Ouachita’s stadium and began doing the radio broadcasts of Tiger games when they were Ouachita students.

Dr. Casey Motl of Arkadelphia, Richard Atkinson of Little Rock and Michael Westbrook of Bryant return to the broadcast team this year.

Motl is the dean of Ouachita’s Sutton School of Social Sciences. He hosts the Coach Todd Knight Show each week for the Ouachita Football Network and also interviews the opponent’s coach. Motl serves as the public address announcer for home football and basketball games at Ouachita.

Atkinson, in his 14th season as part of the Ouachita Football Network, serves as an analyst during the game and conducts interviews of players and coaches on the field after each game.

Westbrook, a former play-by-play voice for Southeastern Oklahoma State University football, produces the broadcasts and hosts the pregame, halftime and postgame shows. Westbrook is also the play-by-play announcer for the powerhouse Bryant High School football program.

The executive producer of the Ouachita Football Network is Toby Howell of Cumulus Media in Little Rock.

“Nothing else in Division II can top the reach and quality of our broadcasts,” said David Sharp, the Ouachita athletic director. “We like to say we have an FBS-style production at a Division II school.”

Each network broadcast begins one hour prior to kickoff and ends an hour after the game.

Fans all over the world can tune in with the listen live feature on the KARN website at www.newsradio1029.com.