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Bonus questions with new OU play-by-play voice Toby Rowland
Published: 9/2/2011 9:34 AM
Last Modified: 9/2/2011 9:37 AM

Toby Rowland, who will make his debut as the new voice of the Sooners during a Saturday season opener against Tulsa, was profiled in today’s Tulsa World.

Here are some questions -- and answers -- you won’t find in that story.

--Rowland descended from a long line of preachers. Does that have anything to do with him going into a profession where he is a public speaker?

“I have obviously thought of that before. Sure, I think there is probably a connection there. I’m sure it is in my genes that I like to talk and I like to talk in front of people and I probably got that from my dad and his dad was a pastor and I have a whole bunch of pastors in my family to be honest with you. I’m kind of the one that has chosen another profession, but I still get a microphone. Yeah, I think it is probably hereditary in some sense.”

--Did Rowland ever feel the call to join the family business?

“I have not. To be honest with you, I think I have always felt that God has led me in a direction in life where I could (make an impact) in a different way. I use my platform now to speak to people and I certainly have always tried to take advantage of that. Now more than ever, I get opportunities to speak to youth groups or churches or even groups of business men about my faith and what God has done in my life and stuff and I feel like I do have a feeling of responsbility to ministry and I feel that this is a great tool, or a great platform to fulfill that call. I never felt like I should be a pastor, necessarily, but I’m very thankful for the opportunities that are provided for me to share my faith.”

--Does Rowland have a pre-planned catch phrase that he will toss out during Sooner broadcasts? No.

“I don’t believe any of the good ones have happened that way. I don’t think Al Michaels sat around and said ‘do you believe in miracles? Yes.’ I think it just came out. I think that’s the best way to approach it.”

--Rowland described himself as an “ultimate sports dork” when he was a kid. Does he have any non-sports interests now?

“Ask anybody who knows me. The only other thing going on in my life are my kids and my wife. I’ve got 13-year-old and 11-year old boys and a 3-year-old girl. And the boys are big-time into sports and, right before you called, we were throwing the football in the front yard and they are just getting into golf and basketball and soccer and baseball and I’m spending time with them. (The girl) is spoiled rotten because she’s got a daddy and two older brothers and, along with my wife, they are just the love of my life.

“They are fun and unbelievable and I spend every spare second with them. It’s the job and family and, really, that is it in my life. We have tried to simple. We are not on Twitter. We are not on Facebook. We’re not big into all that kind of stuff. We live kind of out in the country. It’s all about family for us and that’s the honest truth.”

--What do you think your excitement level will be during your first game?

“I have been excited for five months now. We have gone beyond excited at some point. I am just floating now and I need Saturday to get here as soon as possible and we can get going. I’m sure by the time Saturday night rolls around, I will be a certain amount of nervous and a certain amount of excited and all of that, but I will be prepared and this isn’t my first rodeo, so as soon as the broadcast light goes on and we are on the air, then I think we will all settle in and have a really good game.”


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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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