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