Bill Roth '87

For more than three decades, Bill Roth has been the voice of Virginia Tech athletics, bringing fans some of the program’s most unforgettable moments. His signature call — “From the blue waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the hills of Tennessee, the Hokies are on the air!” — has become synonymous with Hokie football, spanning multiple eras and championship runs.

Roth first took the Virginia Tech play-by-play chair in 1988, spending 27 seasons chronicling the Hokies’ rise to national prominence before returning in 2022. His broadcasts have captured the careers of legends such as Michael Vick, Tyrod Taylor, Antonio Freeman, and dozens of All-Americans who shaped modern Virginia Tech football. Nationally, Roth has also lent his voice to college football and basketball for ESPN, Westwood One, CBS Sports, and Bowl Season Radio.

In addition to his broadcasting career, Roth is a professor of practice in Virginia Tech’s School of Communication, where he helped launch the Sports Media and Analytics program in 2016. Roth, a 12-time Virginia Sportscaster of the Year, is also a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, in addition to the WAER Hall of Fame.

Roth got his start as a student broadcaster at WAER and was awarded the prestigious Bob Costas Scholarship in 1986.