SHEPHERDSTOWN- When fans of Shepherd football aren’t able to attend games, they look to the team of Matt Miller and Vic Holmes each Saturday afternoon of the football season.
Matt Miller first started working at Talk Radio WRNR in 1993, immediately following his graduation from Shepherd University, and began calling games from the press box in Ram Stadium in 2004.
Miller says that he does it “for the love of sports. I’ve always played growing up, so it’s a way to stay close to what I love doing.”
During his time at Shepherd, the sports communications major spent time doing radio work with the campus radio, WSHC. He said that his first introduction to sports broadcasting came during a Shepherd baseball season with three other students. They would call home games and rotate between teams of two.
Miller is also an adjunct professor at Shepherd University, teaching Recr 227: introduction to sport broadcasting. In the class, he says his goal is to “introduce the skills, preparation and process for going through a game broadcast.”
Vic Holmes has been part of Shepherd football even longer, having spent 28 years calling games for the Rams. He spent the first 17 seasons calling games with Tom Tucker, who now works with Shepherd basketball.
Miller and Holmes have spent the last 11 seasons calling Shepherd football. During their time together, the two have built up a lot of chemistry and enjoy working with each other.
Miller said his favorite thing about broadcasting with Holmes is his knowledge of the game.
“He’s been around as a player and a coach,” he said, “He’s taught me a lot from the game itself, as well as what to watch for.”
For Holmes, he enjoys how easy it is to work with Miller.
“We don’t step on each other’s toes and we can anticipate what we’re going to say,” he said.
Oddly enough, Miller used to be a student under Holmes. During his time at Martinsburg High School, Holmes was a gym teacher, and Miller was a part of one of his classes.
During their time together, they have witnessed several spectacular moments of Ram football.
Miller recalled a game on Oct. 23, 2010. Shepherd was at West Liberty University. During the third quarter, the Rams trailed 35-13. They would score 22 points in the third and 18 points in the fourth quarter to win the game 53-38.
For Holmes, he recalled a playoff game against Slippery Rock. The Rams won on a block extra point attempt, in which the team ran it back for a score. He also said that it was one of the team’s first playoff wins.
When asked about his job, Miller was very positive.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said, “to go to work every day and enjoy what you do, it’s a neat thing.”
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