Broadcast plans: Lageschulte has been preparing for this job most of his life

When Mike Lageschulte was named last month as the new "Voice of the Utes," it left a few Ute fans scratching their heads.

Many knew of Lageschulte because he has served in the school's sports information office for more than a decade, including the past eight years in charge of men's basketball.

But the appointment left a few questions.

Does Lageschulte have the proper background in University of Utah athletics?

Does he have the appropriate radio voice for the job?

Does he have any radio experience whatsoever?

The answers are yes, yes and yes.

For Lageschulte, getting the Ute radio play-by-play job fulfills a life's dream that started back in a small Iowa town when he did mock broadcasts in small stadiums he created.

"I've wanted to be a broadcaster since I was about 9 years old," he said. "Timing's everything, and I just happened to be in the right spot for this."

The official title for his new job, which begins next month, is director of publications and broadcasting.

Besides doing play-by-play for men's basketball and football, Lageschulte will produce the football media guide and women's basketball guide, game-day programs for football and men's basketball and help keep the athletic department's Web site updated.

"Mike is very talented and very good at play-by-play," said U. director of athletics Chris Hill. "He's a valued employee and it's something he's always wanted to do. Everything lined up just right. We think he'll do an excellent job."

Lageschulte grew up in the small town of Plainfield, Iowa, where the population is 500 and the number of stoplights is zero.

"A little like Mayberry," he said.

He was a big Iowa Hawkeyes fan and used to listen to the various broadcasts (believe it or not, three main stations did regular broadcasts of the Hawkeyes) as well as broadcasts of Chicago sports teams.

"I was always looking for ballgames on the radio or TV," he said.

Lageschulte would build mini-stadiums and "do play-by-plays of the make-believe games."

He had a close friend with muscular dystrophy who died when the two were in high school. When they were younger, the two of them would "mess around and have pretend talk shows," said Lageschulte.

Sometimes they would turn the sound down on the TV and do their own play-by-play.

"It was good practice," Lageschulte said. "By the time I got to college, I had a lot of the rough edges worn off."

However, when he started at the University of Iowa, he found there were a hundred other guys who wanted to do the same thing.

Figuring the odds weren't in his favor, Lageschulte decided to pursue sports information with the idea of eventually getting into broadcasting.