MANHATTAN, Kan. – Wyatt Thompson, who is in the midst of his 21st season as the Voice of the Wildcats, has been named the 2022 Kansas Sportscaster of the Year for the seventh time in his career following an announcement by the National Sports Media Association.
Thompson, who will be honored June 24-26 in Winston-Salem, N.C., at the annual NSMA convention, is tied for second all-time among K-State broadcasters in awards and third all-time among broadcasters in the state of Kansas. He also was a 2022 Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee this past fall.
In addition to his play-by-play duties for Wildcat football and men’s basketball, Thompson can be seen regularly each summer at each Catbacker event across the state in addition to hosting various radio programs, events and programs at K-State and in the Manhattan community.
He started his broadcasting career in 1976 as a sportscaster for various high schools, colleges and universities in Kansas, spending time at stations in Great Bend and Abilene.
Thompson worked for KAYS radio and television in Hays from 1985 until 1989 where he was the play-by-play voice at Fort Hays State. While in Kansas, he was recognized with the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) Play-by-Play Award in 1982 and the Oscar Stauffer Sportscaster of the Year Award in 1989.
Thompson, also the 2011 recipient of the Hod Humiston Award from the KAB, came to Kansas State in 2002 from Colorado State, where he was the play-by-play voice for CSU’s football and men’s basketball teams for five years.
An accomplished professional, Thompson won the Colorado Broadcasting Association award for best play-by-play in 2000. In addition to his duties at CSU, Thompson was also a sports reporter for Clear Channel Denver, the Countdown to Kickoff host for the Denver Broncos on KOA Radio and hosted the Zone Sports Insiders show on 760 The Zone in Denver.
