June 28, 2006
LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas native and former NFL star Mike Pritchard will join the UNLV broadcasting crew in 2006 as radio analyst for Rebel football, the school announced Wednesday.
Pritchard will team with returning play-by-play announcer Dave McCann on the program's home and away game broadcasts that will appear live on Lotus Broadcasting's ESPN 920 AM for the ninth consecutive year. The Rebels open their season on Sept. 2 by hosting Idaho State at 7 p.m.
"Mike Pritchard will bring a wealth of football knowledge to Rebel broadcasts as our analyst," said Perk Weisenburger, UNLV's associate athletics director for external affairs. "He's a home-grown talent who played at the highest levels both collegiately and in the NFL and we are excited about him joining our team to work with play-by-play man Dave McCann."
After a stellar career as a running back at Las Vegas' Rancho High School, Pritchard attended the University of Colorado (1987-90) where he would become the second-leading receiver in school history with 1,241 yards. His college career included being named team MVP during the Buffaloes' 1990 National Championship season.
Pritchard was the 13th overall selection by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1991 NFL Draft and became one of five players in league history to catch more than 200 passes in his first three seasons. He played nine years in the NFL: three with the Falcons, two with the Broncos and four with the Seahawks. Now in private business, Pritchard just finished his fourth season as radio analyst of Las Vegas' Arena Football League franchise, the Gladiators, and in 2005 did some work as part the Mountain West Conference radio package.
"I grew up following UNLV football, which makes it even more exciting to join the Rebels as an announcer," Pritchard said. "I want to do my part to get the word out to the Las Vegas community that (head coach) Mike Sanford is building this program into something special in the Mountain West Conference. I look forward to getting on the air this fall."
McCann, who is back for his third straight season behind the microphone, is a local veteran broadcaster who served as sports director for CBS affiliate KLAS-TV 8 for over a decade before moving to anchor the station's morning news earlier this year. McCann previously worked play-by-play for UNLV football in 1996 and '97 and then called MWC and WAC football and basketball games on television. He has hosted the "Gametime with UNLV Football" coach's show on KLAS since 1995 and will also co-host the weekly "Mike Sanford Radio Show" again this fall on ESPN 920 AM.
