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For: September 08, 2010
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Media Glean: 'Amos Tabbed by West Liberty'
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From: Statewide Sportsline
with Tony Caridi, Travis Jones and Greg Hunter
 Click Here for Audio Segment - (12/12/2007)
From: Times-West Virginian
Reid Amos resigns as FSU broadcaster, golf coach
BY: DUANE COCHRAN FOR THE TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN
FAIRMONT - Fairmont State University athletics will have a new voice in the future.
Veteran FSU broadcaster Reid Amos called his final game for the Falcons Saturday evening at the Joe Retton Arena - an 84-77 Fairmont State loss to Clarion (Pa.) University.
Amos, who also served as the Falcons' men's golf coach and as a part-time faculty member in FSU's School of Fine Arts, announced this weekend that he is leaving Fairmont State to take a position at West Liberty State College near Wheeling.
Amos will be announced this week as the new Director of Media Operations at West Liberty. In addition, he will also become the new sports broadcaster for the Hilltoppers and, for now, the school's assistant men's golf coach.
"I don't think it's any secret that I have wanted a career in higher education and I've worked very hard to expand my education, experience and knowledge so that hopefully one day I could work in higher education and my hope was that it would be for my alma mater," said Amos. "That has not happened, but you know what they say when one door closes, another opens and one has certainly opened for me at West Liberty State. It's a phenomenal opportunity.
"I'm going to be the Director of Media Operations, an administrative level opportunity working under new president and West Virginia native Robin Capehart at West Liberty. My main job will be to run the operations of the brand new $6 million dollar Media Arts Center. It's a facility, I truly believe, that will become the cornerstone to the best media education in West Virginia. In addition, I'll become the 'Voice of the Hilltoppers' with every home game live on TV to 40,000 cable homes and road games on radio."
Amos, a Fairmont native and graduate of Fairmont Senior High School, Fairmont State and West Virginia University, has been broadcasting FSU football and men's basketball games for the past 15 seasons.
"It's been very special for me," said Amos. "Particularly special was the period from 1993 to 2001. After the golden era of Fairmont State athletics under Joe Retton and Deacon Duvall in the 1960s and 70s Fairmont State was beginning to return to national prominence in the 1990s and in 2000 - in 2001 then that derailed.
"It's been very painful for those of us close to this program to see it do so. With all of the budget cuts and whatnot it's been very difficult for the football program and men's basketball program to compete at the conference level let alone the national level. Had it not been for alums like Rusty Elliott and Tim Murphy, prideful men who cared a great deal about their programs, who knows how far it could have fallen. Quite frankly Fairmont State should be pursuing excellence, not just competing."
As Fairmont's men's golf coach, Amos built the Falcons into a traditional power in both the West Virginia Conference and the East Region in just five short years. FSU has claimed two of the last three league titles under his direction, including one this fall which qualified the team for its fourth straight NCAA Division II Super Regional Tournament.
The Falcons won the NCAA D-II East Regional Championship for the first time in school history this past spring and qualified for the NCAA Championship Finals where they finished 18th in the nation.
Amos, who has led FSU to 10 tournament wins during his tenure, was twice named the West Virginia Conference's Golf Coach of the Year and this past spring was honored by being selected as the Ping/GCAA East Region Coach of the Year.
"I was fortunate to have a special group of young men on the golf team led by Jon Burnside and Tyler Franklin," said Amos. "Their first tournament was my first tournament as a head coach. The three of us essentially made a pact. We decided in the four years they were going to be in the program we were going to compete for a regional title. A lot of teams talk about that, but we were focused on that as one of our main goals.
"We won a regional championship when those two were seniors in their next-to-last college event and in their last college tournament we played in the national tournament. When Jon Burnside walked off after the 72nd hole at the NCAA nationals he said to me ‘Thank you coach I accomplished every goal I had in college golf.' For me that was more satisfying than any coach of the year award I could have received.
"To watch the guys have the successes of what's now two conference championships, a regional championship and a national tournament experience it's been nothing short of special. It all came as a result of hard work by our program."
Amos, who is married to the former Jennie Cunningham and has one daughter Elizabeth, will officially begin his position at West Liberty in January.
FSU ‘Voice' West Lib-bound
From: John Veasey - Notebook
For those fans who have followed Fairmont State athletics on the radio over the years, it won't seem the same without Reid Amos, whose career as "Voice of the Falcons" came to a rather surprising end last night with his broadcast of the FSUClarion basketball game.
Reid followed the late Frank Lee in that role and says he always hoped he would be on the job at least one year longer than Frank, who, sadly enough, was covering Fairmont State games almost up to the time of his death from cancer in the early '90s. Reid was in his 15th season as the FSU "voice" when his local career came to a close last night. (Frank, incidentally, covered Fairmont State athletics for 47 years.) It was no secret that Reid has been attempting to hook on with his alma mater for a number of years - on a full-time basis rather than part-time status. He's a graduate of Fairmont State and holds a master's degree in communication studies from West Virginia University. His name is synonymous with Fairmont State.
But for whatever reason, that never happened.
So the young man most closely association with Fairmont State athletics has broken his ties here and will begin soon as director of media operations at West Liberty University in the Northern Panhandle.
It's surprising enough that Reid is leaving Fairmont State, but among his duties at West Liberty will be to continue his broadcasting career as the "Voice of the Hilltoppers."
It's difficult to imagine Reid supporting any West Virginia Conference team except the Maroon and White of Fairmont State. We're certain that Reid's blood has a maroon tint to it.
Reid Amos truly loved Fairmont State athletics. His closeness with his alma mater was obvious with every broadcast of Fighting Falcon football and basketball teams over the last 15 years. His closeness with the coaches and players was well-known.
He once told us that some of the Falcon players he has covered on the gridiron or hardwood have become good friends. Falcon fans knew he was covering "their" team, and that's what they enjoyed.
Reid spoke of the wonderful opportunity he was receiving at West Liberty and how much better it would make life for him and his family - Jennie and little Carol Elizabeth, who will soon be 2 years old.
For all that he has done to publicize Fairmont State, it's a shame that "wonderful opportunity" couldn't have come in his own home town where he has already built up quite a name for himself.
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