For many fans watching Samford athletics on TV, the action on the field is only half the experience. The other half comes from the boom behind the broadcast.
That voice often belongs to Samford graduate Blake Gardner, a man who has turned a student job at Samford into a broadcasting career that now stretches across multiple sports and professional teams.
Blake Gardner, who graduated from Samford in 2016 with a degree in finance and a concentration in sports marketing, never originally planned to work in broadcasting. In fact, he never took a journalism class while he was a student.
“I took exactly zero journalism courses while I was at Samford,” Blake Gardner said. “That was not the intended path when I got there.”
His path began when Samford joined ESPN’s digital broadcast platform while he was a freshman. The university needed students to help operate new cameras and production equipment for games as Samford switched to ESPN broadcasting.
Blake Gardner felt that applying to help with the sports broadcast for Samford was easy.
“I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to watch a lot of baseball games anyway, ‘so I might as well get paid to watch baseball.’” Blake Gardner said. “
That’s kind of how it all started.”
Blake Gardner began by running cameras for baseball broadcasts and helping with video production. From there, opportunities gradually expanded. He later became a sideline reporter for football broadcasts during his junior year and began producing radio coverage for basketball and baseball. By his senior year, Blake Gardner was a consistent voice on radio and TV for Samford sports.
After graduating, Blake Gardner briefly worked outside sports before returning to Samford as the voice of the Bulldogs on radio broadcasts.
“I graduated in May of 2016 and then in November of 2016, I got offered the Samford radio play-by-play job as the voice of the Bulldogs for football, men’s basketball and baseball. That was a pretty easy ‘yes’ to do that,” Blake Gardner said. “That kind of got my postgraduate broadcast career started. That was kind of a no-brainer for me; I loved doing that job. It kept me around Samford, it kept me involved with my alma mater, it kept me close to campus as well.”
Today, Blake Gardner serves as the primary play-by-play commentator for Samford football, men’s basketball, baseball and volleyball. He also fills in for other sports when needed. Beyond Samford, he works across Birmingham’s sports scene, including television play-by-play roles for UAB, Birmingham Legion FC soccer and the Birmingham Squadron.
Despite the range of work, Blake Gardner’s connection to Samford remains personal. His wife is also a Samford graduate and former Samford volleyball player, and he even proposed to her in front of Hodges Chapel.
“That place means a lot to us, and to have a chance to stay involved in this manner and be able to both expand my broadcast career while also being involved with Samford Athletics quite a bit has been a blast. I’m super blessed to get a chance to do what I do,” Blake Gardner said.
According to Samford Athletics Director of Broadcast Edie Anthony, Blake Gardner’s ability to communicate clearly is what makes him stand out from the rest.
Anthony said play-by-play announcers must describe the game in a way that anyone can understand, even viewers unfamiliar with the sport.
“If we need to work something in or if something’s going on, he’s very good at kind of covering that up and making it seem like it flows with the game rather than it being like an abrupt stop. He always tells the viewers about it in a very flexible and understanding way.” Anthony said.
Blake Gardner’s passion for Samford athletics is shared with his younger brother, Grant Gardner, who is also a Samford graduate.
Grant Gardner runs Samford Scoop, a social media account and reporting platform focused on Samford athletics. He also co-hosts the podcast “State of the Bulldogs”, where the hosts discuss Samford sports.
The brothers don’t formally work together, but their interest in Samford athletics overlaps constantly.
“If you read our text threads, it’s always about Samford Athletics and our thoughts on what’s going on and what needs to happen and the games coming up.” Blake Gardner said. “Anytime you have like a big passion or a big interest that you get to share with someone like your brother, that just makes it kind of all the more enjoyable.”
For Blake Gardner, the wins and losses are only part of the story. His career has become closely intertwined with the university that first gave him the microphone.
Staff Reporter
