 By Austin Hansen
Oh baby, I love this sportscaster, and, apparently, I’m not the only one. Gary Rima, known as “The Voice of the Panthers” on the radio waves across Iowa, was named the 2008 Iowa Broadcaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. I talked to Rima about his award, and what it’s like to be a broadcaster for the Panthers.
“I was shocked at first because I didn’t even know that I had been nominated,” Rima said.
Rima is the first UNI sportscaster to win this award. He said it was a great honor that the state of Iowa, the Panther Nation, and his coworkers thought he was such a great broadcaster and showed great appreciation for the honor.
Rima grew up in Strawberry Point, Iowa, and has always had a love for sports and the excitement and competition of athletics. He had a passion for high school sports, watching and playing football, baseball and basketball. As a kid, he loved baseball and wanted to grow up to become a professional baseball player. Well, that didn’t happen…but he found another love in broadcasting. Rima started his on-air career at the age of 19 for Oelwein High School. He thinks there is a lot we can learn from sports in our own lives.
I asked Rima what his favorite part of broadcasting was. He said he likes to paint a picture of what’s happening during the game in the listener’s mind. He loves the fact that thousands of miles away someone can be listening to his voice, creating images of what the game would be like if he were at the game in person. He also likes traveling with the team. His favorite places have been Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Las Vegas, and St. Louis for the Missouri Valley Tournament. But his favorite environment to watch a game is in the UNI-Dome or McLeod Center. He said there is nothing like a Panther victory at home.
Rima enjoys getting to know the players on a more personal level. He is very proud of how Panther athletes act when they are representing the university and the team away from home.
 He also is very proud of the fact that in his 34 years of broadcasting he has never missed a single broadcast.
Rima’s passion for UNI athletics comes from many different aspects of his life. His brother played baseball for the Panthers. During that time, Rima started learning more about the university. He fell in love with the athletic program, which made it an easy decision when his son decided to play baseball for the Panthers. That’s when he became the play-by-play voice for Panther Baseball and became very close to the baseball team. When I asked him what he thought about the baseball program coming to an end at UNI, he said, “It’s a real shame when any athletic program has to go, but especially this one. The baseball program gave a lot of Iowa kids the chance to play at a higher division level.”
Rima finds it hard to choose a favorite Panther memory, but among them: when the Panthers played in the 2005 national football championship game; the Missouri Valley Tournament in 2004 when UNI won in double overtime in the championship against Missouri State; and every NCAA tournament appearance for the Panther Basketball team.
Rima said broadcasting is his favorite thing, and he hopes to do it for a very long time. He is honored to have his job, and as the voice of the Panthers, thanks all of his loyal fans that listen to him on AM 1540 and other statewide affiliates.
Austin Hansen is a ninth-grade student at Holmes Junior High in Cedar Falls. He is a lifelong Panther fan, as well as a lifelong Gary Rima fan. Austin is the son of two 1989 UNI alumni, Kevin and Connie Hansen. |
