Tim Newton, radio voice for Purdue women's basketball, set to reach major milestone
Newton will call his 1,000th game Wednesday when the Boilermakers host Indiana State
It was going to be hard to top Tim Newton’s first game as the play-by-play voice for the Boilermakers.
Purdue smacked Ohio State by 60 points at Mackey Arena on Jan. 3, 1991, as Newton provided the description on WBAA (920 Am). It was the program’s first victory over the Buckeyes, a Big Ten powerhouse more than three decades ago, but it wasn’t going to be the last of significant wins that featured Newton’s voice.
On Wednesday, Newton will broadcast his 1,000th game when the Boilermakers play Indiana State at Mackey Arena. Tipoff is at 11 a.m.
Newton joined the Greater Lafayette Sports Report on Zoom to reflect on his upcoming milestone and how his radio career started. Newton, who is also the radio voice for Purdue football, has been on the call for seven Big Ten regular-season titles, nine conference tournament championships, three Final Fours and the 1999 NCAA championship.
CHECK THIS OUT: A Tribute to Tim Newton by Tom Schott
“The radio thing was a complete accident,” Newton said. “Our high school allowed students to do morning announcements. You go sit in your homeroom before your first-period class and they would allow us to tell, I don’t know if it was the lunch menu, or whatever group or club was having a call-out or a meeting that day.
“At the time, I think I was a junior and I said, ‘That would be kind of fun to try that.’ I go in there one day and I read the announcements. I come back to the homeroom and somebody said, ‘Hey, you sounded pretty good. You should be on the radio.’ That was it.”
According to Purdue Athletic Communications, Newton and Patrick Wright, who is the play-by-play voice for LSU, are the only active broadcasters to reach 1,000 women’s basketball games.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Indiana State (4-6) at Purdue (6-5)
Time: 11 a.m.
TV: B1G+ (subscription required)
Radio: wbpefm.com
Photo: Dave Wegiel Photography