Frank Beckmann, the voice of University of Michigan Football since 1981, is retiring at the end of the 2013 college football season. He is only the second person to handle play-by-play duties for the flagship network broadcast of Michigan football in the past 65 years.
“We appreciate all that Frank has done for Michigan football for the past 33 years,” said Dave Brandon, Athletic Director at Michigan.
“Frank has dedicated his Saturday afternoons to telling the story of Michigan football through the radio to our fans. We look forward to enjoying one more season of Frank being the voice of Michigan football before he begins his well-deserved retirement.”
Beckmann, who has hosted a daily weekday talk show on WJR-AM in Detroit since 2004, will continue in that role.
A Michigan native, Beckmann took his first radio job in 1969 at an AM station in Alpena, working as a one-man news staff.
After stints at WKNR-AM in Dearborn, WDRQ-FM and Channel 2, Beckmann joined the WJR news staff in 1972.
Three years after joining the news team Beckmann switched to the WJR sports staff. He would become sports director, lead announcer for the Detroit Lions and, in 1981, he succeeded Bob Ufer as the play-by-play announcer for University of Michigan football.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, a Fox Sports affiliate. He is also an analyst for 95.7 The Fan, and writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. President Obama follows his Twitter account (@PaulMBanks)