REXBURG — Flip on the radio any given Saturday and you might hear the jazz music of BYU-Idaho Radio. Turn the dial a couple notches and you’ll tune in for the afternoon traffic report. Crank the dial even further and you’ve got the unmistakable voice of Brigham Young University play-by-play man Greg Wrubell, bringing you into the action of Cougar sports.
Greg Wrubell, best known as “the voice of the Cougars,” has worked behind the mic for more than 34 years. During that time, he has called numerous bowl games in football, multiple March Madness showdowns in basketball, as well as any number of memorable moments in the annals of BYU sports history.
Recently, Wrubell sat down with BYU-Idaho Radio to talk about his career to this point.
“When I came to BYU as a freshman back in the mid-80s, I just went directly to the KBYU TV news department and basically said, ‘I'm new on campus, I want to be a broadcaster and can you put me to work?’ And they did,” Wrubell said. “That was before I had any classes or anything.”
The news department gave Wrubell a videographer and an editor with the assignment to do a story on an unknown BYU sports team. That is exactly what he did, finding the fencing club.
Following his graduation from BYU, Wrubell’s career featured a 25-year stop at KSL Newsradio. He also hosted a talk show and anchored for radio and TV. As, at the time KSL held the BYU broadcasting rights, Wrubell would eventually find his way to BYU sports. Following a 25-year career at KSL, Wrubell officially became a BYU Athletics employee in July of 2016.
Throughout his career, Wrubell has been witness to many historic BYU sports moments. In the interview, he highlighted some of his favorites.
“To call the Beck to Harline game in 2006 was pretty memorable for obvious reasons,” Wrubell said. “Rivalry game on the road, last play of the game, last game of the year, the whole thing. So that's pretty special. The Hail Mary calls are always fun. Jimmermania was a blast. Anytime you can get to the NCAA tournament, no matter what the sport, those are always memorable games.”
Wrubell made it clear that memorable moments are only as good as the broadcaster’s preparation.
“Preparation is nonstop from when the first game ends to the next game starts,” Wrubell said. “I'm breaking down the previous game with its stats and advanced analytics. I'm maintaining, along with my interns, all of my statistical databases from that game. I'm then getting game notes from both teams for the next week's game. I'm watching video from both teams, practice and games to get ready for the next week. I am going through all of the team stats and research notes. I am memorizing names and numbers. I'm attending practices. I'm writing pregame scripts.”
For those aspiring broadcasters looking to, one day, call big moments of their own, Wrubell says it all boils down to practice.
“Don't dismay and know that all the reps you're getting will pay off in the end,” Wrubell said. “This whole job is about reps. The more reps you can get, the better.”
Greg Wrubell will once again be behind the mic for BYU football’s final home game of the season against the 14th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. To listen to the broadcast, tune into KBYU 89.1 in Utah or Sirius XM channel 143. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m.