‘Hooper’ Becomes A Yooper

As I make my way through my second week in the UP, the overwhelming observation I keep having is that everyone is so friendly here.

And I come from Iowa; Midwestern hospitality is our thing.

Regardless, the kindness shown to me by the locals has made me feel like part of the community from the day I arrived in town. My name is Tanner Hoops, I’m the new sports director at ESPN Radio Upper Peninsula in Marquette.

I was born and raised in Storm Lake, Iowa, a town of about 13,000 in the Hawkeye State’s Northwestern corner. I even went to college there, graduating from Buena Vista University with a degree in digital media. I spent the summer of 2018 calling Northwoods League baseball in Duluth, Minnesota, but this is the first time I have actually lived outside of my hometown and the kindness and acceptance shown to me by the people of Upper Michigan has made me feel right at home.

I’ve known I wanted to work in sports media since I was a kid. I was born with Marfan Syndrome, an incurable genetic disorder that affects my heart and eyes, putting an end to my athletic career before it started. However, sportscasting allowed me to stay involved and gave me the opportunity to go further in life with something then I ever would have had as an athlete.

I’ve been blessed to meet and to have been mentored by incredible individuals in the sports media industry including Dick Bremer, Clay Matvick, Barry Melrose, Mitch Holthus, John Buccigross, Paul Allen, Bert Blyleven, Chuck Freeby, Mike Grimm, Gary Dolphin and more. I have interned with the Duluth Huskies (Northwoods League) and the Sioux City Musketeers (United States Hockey League) and had the opportunity to cover runs to the championships by both.

Throughout my career, I have provided play by-play and color commentary for eight different sports; hockey, football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer and wrestling. Through all four years of college, I was the lead play-by-play broadcaster for university athletic events covered by the campus radio and television stations in addition to writing for the campus newspaper.

I was named sports director at my college radio station in 2014, inheriting a sportscasting program that had been defunct for five years. During my time at the helm, a new sport was introduced to the broadcast lineup each year, including three that had never been covered at the university previously. In addition, I co-produced and co-hosted a weekly sports talk show which was recognized by the Society of Collegiate Journalists as the best radio sports package in the nation during it’s first season on the air.

I joined Indiana Sports Coverage in 2018 as a beat writer covering the University of Notre Dame men’s basketball and baseball teams. Two weeks later, I appeared as a guest broadcaster covering Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball on Harvest Radio and the WatchND streaming app.

I am very excited to be here and to continue to raise the bar at a station with an impeccable track record. I have big shoes to fill and I have great respect for those who’ve held the position before me, a few of them have been kind enough to reach out and help make the transition easier. I’m blessed to be in a great area with great teams and to be part of a wonderful network that has set the standard in sports media for nearly 40 years.