SLS 21RS-927 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 32
BY SENATOR BERNARD
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Tim Brando on receiving the Louisiana Sports Hall of
Fame Ambassador Award.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Shreveport-based sports broadcaster Tim Brando upon being the first recipient
3 of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Ambassador Award.
4 WHEREAS, Tim Brando, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, and University of
5 Louisiana at Monroe alumnus, knew that he wanted to be a sports broadcaster when he was
6 fourteen and called his first game with his father at his side; and
7 WHEREAS, he was focused on that singular goal, took advantage of every
8 opportunity in pursuit of that goal, built an exceptional career, never forgetting to promote
9 his hometown and his native state; and
10 WHEREAS, the chronology of Tim Brando's career in sports broadcasting, both in
11 the studio and the broadcast booth, is impressive and mimics the expansion of sports
12 journalism, especially on television and streaming platforms; and
13 WHEREAS, at ESPN, Mr. Brando was a Sports Center anchor from 1986 to 1994
14 and he was the first host of the celebrated College Gameday, which has become a cultural
15 phenomenon, for the network's college football package, as well as the National Collegiate
16 Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament games, known as "March Madness";
17 and
18 WHEREAS, Tim Brando moved to Turner Sports where he stayed for eighteen
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SLS 21RS-927 ORIGINAL
1 seasons, and in the mid-1990s, called both National Basketball Association and selected
2 Atlanta Braves' games; and
3 WHEREAS, next stop on this exceptional career journey was CBS, where Tim began
4 calling NCAA Basketball Tournament games, and, then, in 1998, he took over as the host
5 of the network's studio show, College Football Today; and
6 WHEREAS, Brando called National Football League (NFL) games for CBS from
7 1998 to 2003, and in 2014 he began broadcasting college football and basketball games for
8 FOX television and continued working on NFL games; and
9 WHEREAS, through most of these network jobs, Tim Brando teamed with Spencer
10 Tillman, a former NFL running back for the Houston Oilers and the San Francisco 49ers
11 from the University of Oklahoma to broadcast games for CBS sports, then reunited with him
12 at FOX Sports in 2015; and
13 WHEREAS, in 1990, in the midst of his years with ESPN, and at a time when most
14 of ESPN's broadcasting was being done from their headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, Tim
15 Brando moved back home to Shreveport to raise his family, being true to his support of his
16 hometown and his native state; and
17 WHEREAS, along the way in this amazing journey, he has garnered four regional
18 Emmy Awards, as well as critical acclaim from national media writers and operations; and
19 WHEREAS, Brando has received numerous awards for his work, among them, the
20 Jake Ward Award in 2009, given by the College Sports Information Directors of America
21 for outstanding promotion of intercollegiate athletics, the 2014 Lindsey Nelson Award,
22 given by the Knoxville Quarterback Club, the Broadcast Legend Award in 2018, presented
23 by the Lombardi Honors, and the Richard M. Uray-Alpha Epsilon Rho Award for Lifetime
24 Achievement from the National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho, awarded to an
25 individual, company, or organization that best represents excellence in the field of electronic
26 media; and
27 WHEREAS, Tim Brando has covered twenty-six different sports, twenty-five of
28 them while he was at ESPN, which is still considered the most ever by anyone at that
29 network; and
30 WHEREAS, Brando has covered football and basketball, and sometimes both, in the
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SLS 21RS-927 ORIGINAL
1 Southeastern Conference, the Big 10, the PAC 12, Big XII, the Big East, the Atlantic Coast
2 Conference, and the American Athletic Conference; and
3 WHEREAS, originally encouraged by his father with whom he called his first game,
4 a football game between Neville High School and Captain Shreve, to focus on his goal of
5 being a broadcaster, along the way, Tim Brando was also encouraged in his career path by
6 none other than Dick Vitale and Dale Brown; and
7 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Ambassador Award is being given
8 for the first time and its focus is to recognize a person who promotes Louisiana and
9 Louisiana athletes on a national stage and whose pride in and love for Louisiana are evident
10 and openly shared with all; and
11 WHEREAS, Tim Brando has built a more than forty-year stellar career as a
12 broadcaster and a studio host of American athletics and he has traveled that road promoting
13 his hometown and native state.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
15 does hereby commend Shreveport-based sports broadcaster Tim Brando for being the first
16 recipient of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Ambassador Award.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
18 Tim Brando.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Ann S. Brown.
DIGEST
SR 32 Original 2021 Regular Session Bernard
Commends Tim Brando upon being the first recipient of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Ambassador Award.
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