Jim Brandstatter

James Patrick Brandstatter [2] is an American sports announcer. He is the radio play-by-play for the Michigan Wolverines football team. He held the position of color commentator for the Detroit Lions for 31 years until the end of the 2017 season.[3] Brandstatter is also a sports television show host and former radio show host; both TV and radio shows about Michigan football. He played college football for the Wolverines, from 1969 to 1972, where he was a standout offensive tackle. Brandstatter has written two non-fiction books about UM experiences, both of which were best-sellers in the sports category. His other positions include the two-time president of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. Brandstatter leaving the Detroit Lions radio broadcast was announced on July 10, 2018.[4]

Jim Brandstatter
Jim Brandstatter in 2019
Born
James Patrick Brandstatter

East Lansing, Michigan
Other names"Brandy", "Duke"
EducationUniversity of Michigan (1972)
OccupationSportscaster (Michigan Wolverines football) Podcast: The Brandy Show
TV college football talk show host
nonfiction author
Notable credit(s)
Radio: Detroit Lions Radio Network (1987-2017)
Host of Michigan Coach Radio Show (syndicated)
Michigan Wolverines Football Radio Network (mid-1980s-current)
TV: Michigan Replay/Inside Michigan Football (1980-current) syndicated on cable
Author of Tales from Michigan Stadium (2002) and Tales from Michigan Stadium: Volume II (2007)
Spouse(s)Robbie Timmons (formerly of WXYZ-TV) [1]

Early life

Childhood and family

Brandstatter was born and raised in East Lansing, Michigan, the home of Michigan State University. He was one of 5 boys.[5] His father Art Brandstatter, Sr. was named an All-American fullback for the Spartans football team in 1936.[5][6] His father went on to become a Detroit Police officer. He was Head of the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice.[5] Later he was named Head of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. [6] Jim's older brother, Art Brandstatter, Jr., played defensive end for the Spartans from 1959 to 1961.[6] Despite the family's legacy at MSU, Jim Brandstatter opted to attend the school's in-state rival the University of Michigan (the teams play annually for the Paul Bunyan Trophy). When asked about his early life and family in a November 2007 Detroit Free Press interview, Brandstatter responded: "My brother Art played at Michigan State, and he was my hero. ... I went to all the games. I got to know all the players, the team. I was just a 10-year-old kid. That was great, but when I got into high school and was playing, Michigan recruited me and I fell in love with the place. ... So I went against the grain, went to Michigan and never regretted it."[6]

Sports career
Jim Brandstatter
Brandstatter, center, in a game in 1971
Michigan Wolverines – No. 76
PositionOffensive tackle
Class1972
MajorSpeech-TV and radio
Career history
College
High schoolEast Lansing, Michigan
Personal information
Born:East Lansing, Michigan
Career highlights and awards
See also: 1969 Michigan Wolverines football team

He was an offensive tackle on the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1969 to 1972 during Coach Bo Schembechler's first three seasons.[6] Brandstatter later noted one of his favorite memories as a player came in a 1971 victory against Michigan State. Brandstatter recalled, "That was as good as it gets." He added: "Bo (Schembechler) used to say and (offensive line coach) Jerry Hanlon might say, I may have played my best game ever as a collegian in that game." Hanlon said about Brandstatter: "He got so fired up, he took over every defender that came his way." He added "It was one of the best games a tackle played for me. That particular game, he was an All-American."[6]

Brandstatter made the All Big Ten team in 1971 and played in 2 Rose Bowls, during his time with Michigan (1970 and 1972).[7]

Broadcasting career

Television

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1972, Brandstatter was hired as the sports director of WEYI-TV in the Flint / Tri-Cities area.[1] In 1975, Brandstatter was sports director at WILX-TV in the Lansing / Jackson area.[1] After two-and-a-half years, Brandstatter moved to Detroit and became a sports producer for WDIV.[1]

In 1980, while working at WDIV, Brandstatter became the host of Michigan Replay, a weekly half-hour discussion, interview, and highlights program about Michigan Wolverines football. It originally featured his former head coach Bo Schembechler (until 1989). It later included former head coaches Gary Moeller (1990–1994), Lloyd Carr (1995–2007). In 2008 the TV Show became "Inside Michigan Football with Coach Rich Rodriguez (2008–2010), and Brady Hoke (2011–2014). Inside Michigan Football continues with head coach Jim Harbaugh.[8] After 30 years, Brandstatter remains the original host and the show has grown from being seen only in Southeastern Michigan to available nationwide on cable and satellite.[9]

Radio

Former show

Brandstatter formerly hosted a weekly college football radio show, called Brandy and Bo with Coach Bo Schembechler. Brandy and Bo talked with coaches previewing upcoming games and discussed issues facing collegiate football.

Current roles and programs

Brandstatter can be heard calling play-by-play of his alma mater's football games on the Michigan Wolverines Football Radio Network, teaming with color analyst Dan Dierdorf, studio analyst Jon Jansen and sideline reporter Doug Karsch.[10] From the mid-1980s through the 2013 season, Brandstatter was the color analyst on the Michigan radio broadcasts, while Frank Beckmann called play-by-play.[9]

From 1987 until July 2018, Brandstatter analyzed National Football League games on the Detroit Lions Radio Network, teaming with play-by-play man Dan Miller and sideline reporter Tony Ortiz.[11][11]

Brandstatter also hosts the syndicated weekly Inside Michigan Football TV Show highlighting players, game day highlights and comments by Coach Jim Harbaugh and other coaches and players, along with Doug Karsch and Ed Kengerski during the college football season.[8]

Brandstatter gives comments and observations about football on football-related radio programs, heard on Detroit area radio stations as well as radio stations across the country.

Other

Besides football, Jim has broadcast golf on the Michigan Open Golf Championship radio and television network, and was an associate producer on the 'Ameritech Showdown', the Emmy Award winning telecast of the state's PGA Skins game tournament.[1]

Awards and honors

Brandstatter has been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2014, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame added his name to their honor rolls. And in 2016, he was inducted into the Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. He was voted in 2004 and 2008 as "Sportscaster of the Year in Michigan" by the National Sportscasters/Sportswriters Association. He twice served as the president of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.[1] In 2006, Brandstatter was named by the DSBA as the Ty Tyson Award winner for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting in Michigan. Brandy and Bo twice won Michigan Association of Broadcasters ‘Best in Category’ honors. Michigan Replay/Inside Michigan Football has been nominated for Michigan Emmy Awards.

Free-lance work

Jim Brandstatter, Inc., is his company. He is contacted and hired for public speaking engagements, event hosting, voice-overs and local commercials.[12]

Author

Brandstatter has written two nonfiction books about Michigan Wolverines football: Tales from Michigan Stadium (published in 2002) and Tales from Michigan Stadium: Volume II (published in 2007). Both books became bestsellers in the sports category.

Personal life

Brandstatter's wife is Robbie Timmons, who also had a career in broadcasting. Timmons was the weekday news anchor at noon and 5 pm on WXYZ-TV in Detroit from 1982 to 2010. In 1972 at WILX-TV, she became the first woman to anchor the evening news in America. She worked from 1972 to 1976 at WILX-TV in Lansing. Jim and Robbie met in 1975 while anchoring TV newscasts together at WILX-TV. In 1976, Timmons became the 11 pm co-anchor at WJBK-TV with Joe Glover. In 1982, Timmons moved to WXYZ-TV, where she anchored newscasts with Bill Bonds and most recently Carolyn Clifford. Timmons graduated from Ohio State University, whose football team is the Michigan football team's fierce arch-rival. Timmons announced her retirement in 2010, and her last broadcast was October 14 of that year.[1][13]

Bibliography
  • Tales from Michigan Stadium by Jim Brandstatter ISBN 1-59670-015-7[14]
  • Tales from Michigan Stadium, Volume II by Jim Brandstatter ISBN 1-58261-888-7[15]
gollark: It is now probably.
gollark: ... *is* this on blattidus? I'll check my routing.
gollark: https://osmarks.net/blattidus/
gollark: Repo or something?
gollark: Technically, I have blattidus on the main server, but sure.

References
  1. "DSBA Member Roster Jim Brandstatter". detroitsportsbroadcasters.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  2. Michigan Athletic Association
  3. Dan Caesar (April 18, 2014). "Media Views: Alum Dierdorf to broadcast Michigan games". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  4. RE: Jim Brandstatter NFL.com, July 10, 2018
  5. "Arthur F. Brandstatter" (PDF). Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  6. Snyder, Mark (November 1, 2007). "Jim Brandstatter: 'The best decision I ever made'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  7. "Heroes of the Gridon: Michigan Victors Profiles, Part II". TKLegacy.com. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  8. "2015 Michigan Football Broadcast Information". University of Michigan Athletic Department. September 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  9. "2009 Michigan Football Broadcast Information". University of Michigan Athletic Department. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  10. Snyder, Mark (April 17, 2014). "Michigan football hires Dan Dierdorf as radio analyst; Jim Brandstatter shifts to play-by-play". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  11. "Lions Radio Network". Detroit Lions. June 15, 2008. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  12. Jim Brandstatter, Inc. Official Site
  13. "Veteran News Anchor Robbie Timmons Announces Her Retirement From WXYZ-TV". PR Newswire. September 28, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  14. Brandstatter, Jim (2002). Tales from Michigan Stadium (illustrated ed.). Sports Publishing LLC. p. 200. ISBN 9781596700154.
  15. Brandstatter, Jim (2005). Tales from Michigan Stadium Volume II (illustrated ed.). Sports Publishing LLC. p. 200. ISBN 9781582618883.
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