Sam Hovan’s timing is impeccable—not only in his play-by-play commentary but also in his arrival at Longwood just in time to take over as the Voice of the Lancers for a historic men’s basketball season.
Hired in November to take the place of Darius Thigpen, Hovan dived in with announcing the record-setting efforts of the men’s basketball team, bringing the action of every game to fans who can’t be there in person. His performances air live online through Farmville station WVHL 92.9 FM, a proud university sponsor and official home of Longwood athletics.
As Longwood’s lead broadcaster, Hovan also calls baseball and softball, as well as fall and spring sports that air on ESPN+. Away from the microphone, he serves as the athletics communications contact for Longwood baseball.
A native of Elkhart, Indiana, Hovan polished his broadcasting skills during his time at the prestigious Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he graduated in 2013 with a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism. He went on to serve as the do-it-all sports information director and lead broadcaster at Arizona Western College for four years before coming to Longwood.
“We’re thrilled to add a person of Sam’s talents and character to the Longwood athletics staff,” said Chris Cook, assistant vice president for athletics communications. “I met Sam years ago at Duke when he was completing his master’s capstone project, and I was impressed then with his professionalism and demeanor. That still holds true today and is overshadowed only by his talents as a broadcaster and communications professional.”
'We’re thrilled to add a person of Sam’s talents and character to the Longwood athletics staff.'
CHRIS COOK, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS
At Arizona Western, Hovan carried televised broadcasts for the school’s football program as well as the men’s and women’s basketball program. During his time there, he added livestreaming of the baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and volleyball programs, while also producing all publicity and coverage for the department.
He also spent time in professional baseball, working with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball as a broadcast and media assistant for the 2014 season.
Prior to jumping into the realm of athletics communications, Hovan put his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from LeTourneau University to use as a high-school teacher in Texas. After two years in the classroom, he began work on his master’s degree at Syracuse. As part of his master’s capstone project, he landed his first job in sports with The Devils Den, a recruiting website and digital media outlet devoted to coverage of Duke University athletics.
Lancer fans can catch him on the air this spring calling the men’s and women’s basketball postseason, as well as all of Longwood’s spring sports on ESPN+ and the baseball and softball “Game of the Week” airing on WVHL.
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