Tom Leach hit a major milestone Saturday, opening his 30th season as the radio voice of Kentucky football during the Wildcats’ 45-13 win over Youngstown State.
That made it year 30 for Leach in the football chair, and he is set to begin his 26th season calling Kentucky men’s basketball later this fall. For a broadcaster who has been tied to UK for decades, the moment fit neatly into a day that also marked the beginning of the Will Stein era.
Leach has been with Kentucky since 1989, when he was helping with call-in shows and handling postgame scoreboards. From there, he climbed into the role he always wanted, eventually becoming The Voice of the Wildcats and building a résumé that includes six Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year awards.
His work at UK has stretched well beyond the football booth. Leach called the 2012 basketball national title game, two Citrus Bowl football wins and also covers horse racing. He is a member of the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
Leach’s connection to the job goes back to his senior year at Bourbon County High School, when he first set his sights on becoming The Voice of the Wildcats. Three decades later, he is still there.
The milestone also served as another reminder of how fully Leach has stepped into the space once held by Cawood Ledford. Taking over that role was never going to be simple, but Leach has become a fixture for generations of the Big Blue Nation.
Among the calls that have stuck with fans are Patrick Sparks’ shot against Michigan State in the 2005 Elite Eight - “he goes over and gives Billy Packer a high five!” - and the Stevie Got Loose call against Louisville. There are plenty more where those came from.
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Kentucky Gets Its First Real Chance To Back Up The Hype
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Now comes the part that will tell the bigger story. Kentucky heads into this matchup as the underdog, facing a Crimson Tide team that brings a different level of talent and depth, and the Wildcats will have to translate the confidence they showed in Week 1 into something sturdier against a far sterner test. The opener featured encouraging performances from key players, but Alabama is the kind of opponent that quickly reveals whether the hype is real or just September noise. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Volleyball Just Made A National Statement On A Huge Stage
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The timing only sharpened the moment for Kentucky fans, with opening weekend across the SEC delivering the kind of conference-wide backdrop that makes every result feel bigger. While football headlines around the league centered on unbeaten starts and a slate of tight games, Kentucky was making its own statement in a different sport, and the Wildcats are still settling into a new weekly rhythm on the football side after moving press conferences and coach shows to different days. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads Into Kentucky With One Big Problem Fans Will Notice
Kentuckys Week 2 meeting with Alabama comes with a strange kind of uncertainty for both staffs, the sort that only shows up this early in the season. Kalen DeBoer spent part of his press conference Wednesday talking through the usual mix of player evaluation, preparation and the challenges of jumping into an SEC game this quickly, while also acknowledging that the Crimson Tide are still trying to get a clear read on what Kentucky looks like under new head coach Will Stein.
The catch for Alabama is that the film bank is thin, and what is available does not offer much of a clean blueprint. DeBoer said the Tide are leaning heavily on fundamentals as they get ready for an early conference test, which makes this more of a game-plan-for-the-basics week than a deep-dive into tendencies. The matchup is set for ABC and Disney+, and for Kentucky, that kind of uncertainty can be a useful place to be when a heavyweight comes to town. [Read more 🡒]