NSMA Lifetime Member Brando to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from National Broadcasting Society

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Raycom Sports and FOX Sports play-by-play commentator Tim Brando will be honored with the Richard M. Uray-Alpha Epsilon Rho Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award is presented by the National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho at its 76^th annual convention to be held in Washington D.C. from February 28 to March 3.

The Richard M. Uray-Alpha Epsilon Rho Award is named after Uray, the longest serving Executive Secretary of the organization, who served in the position for 15 years from 1972-1987. It is awarded to an individual, company, or organization that best represents “excellence” in the field of electronic media. Past recipients of the Uray award include Walter Cronkite, Bob Costas and Tom Kennedy.

Brando has been part of the Raycom Sports family for over two decades, covering ACC and SEC football and basketball. He is the host of Raycom’s Emmy Award-winning syndicated show, Football Saturdays.

For more than 40 years, Brando has been a leader in sports journalism and broadcasting. After beginning in television in his hometown of Shreveport, LA., Brando advanced to become one of the second wave of sportscasters who joined ESPN in the mid-1980s. In addition to being a SportsCenter anchor, Brando was the original host of ESPN Gameday, the college football pre-game show that is now a national institution.

Brando’s reporting on the booster cheating scandal at Southern Methodist University was among some of the enterprise reporting that led to the disbanding of the Southwest Conference and SMU’s death penalty punishment in college football. Brando also displayed his reporting skills and calm under pressure during his coverage of the SEC semifinal tournament game in Atlanta in March of 2008, when a tornado struck the area, suspending the game. Brando became a news reporter, describing the scene and the consequences of the tornado for more than an hour to the live syndicated Raycom Sports network.

Throughout his career, Brando has covered professional sports (Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Braves) as well as college sports for the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, and the NCAA basketball tournament. His work has earned him four regional Emmy Awards.

Brando joined FOX Sports in 2014 as a play-by-play commentator in football and basketball for Fox Sports. Throughout his career, Brando has been a mentor to several younger sports journalists.

The National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho enhances the development of college students preparing for careers in electronic media industries. NBS-AERho connects students with practicing professionals; emphasizes industry ethics, diversity, and inclusiveness; and promotes opportunities for excellence in leadership, community service, and production. The organization’s website is www.nbs-aerho.org.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Raycom Sports is a leader for compelling storytelling, production, and content distribution across all platforms. With an award-winning production team, Raycom creates original feature programming such as Football Saturdays and Heroes of the Dorm: Atlantic Coast Region. Raycom also serves as the digital content, marketing, video and broadcast production partner of The Basketball Tournament (TBT).

Raycom is the syndicated rightsholder of ACC men’s basketball and football since 1982, and manages live television broadcasting, original programming, archival footage, mobile applications, social media, the official ACC website and the ACC Official Corporate Champions program. Raycom manages client activations and hospitality at ACC FanFest at the ACC Football Championship and ACC Basketball Tournaments.

Raycom Sports’ parent company Raycom Media owns and/or provides services for 65 television stations and two radio stations located in 20 states covering 16% of U.S. television households.

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