FAMU sports broadcast goes digital without Miles

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer

A longstanding FAMU tradition of broadcasting the Rattlers’ football games on radio is now a thing of the past. 

The university’s athletic department announced recently that it has created an in-house network on the internet, with Peak Sports taking the lead. While it could take some time before ratings for the move on-line is known, the change has raised an even bigger question.

Where will Keith Miles fit into the Rattler Sports Network? Miles’ answer is that he is out, something he didn’t know until a news release was issued last week about the deal with Peak, he said.

However, two familiar voices – that of Mike Thomas and Albert Chester – will remain with the broadcast. 

Miles had become synonymous with FAMU football for almost 40 years. This marks the second time that he was dropped from calling FAMU games, but Miles said he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stay in the role if he was asked.

He is currently director of the FAMU office of communications.

“My plate is certainly full and I have a lot of work to do,” Miles said. “But it (broadcasting the games) is something I had become accustomed to. I appreciate the connections that we had with Rattler fans. We tried to give them a good product and they responded. They liked what we did.

“I will certainly miss it, but at the end of the day I’m a Rattler. I hope coach (Willie) Simmons and the team do really well. I will be supporting them 100 percent.”

Miles took over broadcasting FAMU football games from Chico Renfroe. Former athletic director Roosevelt Wilson gave him approval to establish the Rattler Football Network in 1982. Miles grew it to as many as 12 affiliates, with WHBX becoming the flagship station.

Fans can now listen to FAMU sports by using their digital devices to log onto the Florida A&M Athletics Facebook or FAMUAthletics.com/RattlerSportsNetwork.

 Peak and the athletic department have a five-year agreement, according to the news release that announced the change. It also stated that the network will broadcast games outside of football, along with coaches’ shows. The agreement also calls for Peak Sports to manage and sell all sponsorships for the network.

One of its primary sponsors is Hyatt House, where the first Willie Simmons football show took place Monday night, with Thomas as host. It was a prelude to the broadcast of the Orange Blossom Classic on Sunday from Miami. 

Athletic Director Kortne Gosha was unavailable for additional comments but he lauded the Peak deal in a statement.

“We are excited to have an in-house platform that will allow us to broadcast Florida A&M University athletic content to Rattler fans, alumni, prospective students, and student-athletes around the globe,” said Gosha. “Peak Sports has developed a turnkey solution that will also allow us to further maximize our multimedia rights.”

 The sports production company has been working since the deal was complete, said associate AD Keith McCluney.

We understand that the demand for Florida A&M Athletics content is greater than just Tallahassee,” he said. “The Rattler Sports Network will bring Florida A&M Athletics content to more consumers.”

Chester, who was quarterback for the Rattlers when FAMU won the first NCAA national championship, praised the Peak deal as a necessity that keeps pace with where Gosha is taking the athletic department. Gosha, who became athletic director in the fall of 2019, has made several personnel and structural changes since taking over.

The peak deal will “take us to the next level,” Chester said. “I’m glad to be a part of it because it’s unique. One of the things we have to do is to make sure we protect the brand and at the same time provide top-notch coverage of sporting events.”

Selvin Cobb, head of the Rattler Boosters, said the move is in the right direction, considering that radio affiliates had shrunk from 12 to about 4.

“I can understand the move,” he said. “We weren’t reaching a lot of people so if this move is going to be digitalized we are going global.”