Yanity Named Permanent Voice of the Tigers

May 6, 2004

Pete Yanity, who served as Clemson’s play-by-play announcer for football and basketball games on an interim basis during the 2003-04 academic year, will retain that position on a permanent basis. He will also serve as host of the Tommy Bowden and Oliver Purnell television programs. The announcement was made Thursday by Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips and Clemson Tiger Sports Properties, a joint venture of Learfield Communications and ISP Sports.

Both parties also announced that Don Munson will handle play-by-play duties for Clemson baseball and women’s basketball broadcasts. He will also serve as host of the Tiger Tailgate Show, the Fifth Quarter Show and the radio call-in shows for Bowden and Purnell.

“Pete did an outstanding job for us under difficult circumstances last year,” said Phillips. “He is respected among his peers, and the Clemson administration. He is a professional in every sense of the word. We look forward to him serving in this capacity for many years to come.

“Don has also done an outstanding job this past year as host of our coach’s call-in shows and handling the play-by-play for baseball and women’s basketball. He has been a part of our broadcasts in some capacity for many years.”

Yanity broadcast the final 10 games of the 2003 football season and all 28 games of the men’s basketball season on an interim basis after legendary broadcaster Jim Phillips died suddenly on September 9, 2003, just two days after broadcasting the Clemson vs. Furman game. Phillips had broadcast Clemson sporting events for 36 years and was a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame. He broadcast 401 Clemson football games and over 2000 Clemson sporting events between 1968 and 2003.

“It is a great honor to sit in the chair held by Jim Phillips,” said Yanity. “It is a humbling assignment.

“I appreciate everyone who was involved in allowing me to serve in this capacity. I will do my best to continue to provide a quality broadcast every time out. I have always wanted to be a play-by-play announcer, I just did not want the opportunity to come about under these circumstances.”

Yanity has been the sports director at WSPA TV in Spartanburg the last 13 years and he will continue in that capacity. He has also been a sideline analyst for eight years on Carolina Panther preseason football games and has considerable play-by-play experience for Comcast Sports Southeast covering various college events, including Clemson football and baseball. He also gained considerable play-by-play experience in college when he broadcast a variety of sports at Ohio University. He is a 1985 graduate of that institution.

Between 2001 and the first three games of the 2003 season Yanity was the sideline reporter and host of the pregame, halftime and postgame programming on the Clemson football radio network. Yanity will serve as the host of the Tommy Bowden and Oliver Purnell television shows, a role he served on an interim basis last year.

Munson has been the host of the Tiger Tailgate Show and has also served as the host of the Clemson Fifth Quarter show during his broadcasting career, including this past season. He broadcast Clemson’s women’s basketball games and is currently providing the play by play of Clemson’s baseball games this spring. Earlier in his career he was the voice of Appalachian State athletics.

“Although no one will ever be able to fill the shoes of the late Jim Phillips, we are extremely excited to have two first class individuals and two first class broadcasters join our crew on a full-time basis,” said David Hubbard, of Clemson Tiger Sports Properties. “Both Pete Yanity and Don Munson performed outstanding work during their interim roles and we look forward to hearing them for many years to come.”