Broadcaster McDonald leaves Cavs

By Jay Jenkins

Published: May 1, 2008

On numerous occasions, W.A. Hogsten called asking for help.
And every time the captain with the Charlottesville Fire Department called, Mac McDonald listened.
It was something of a role reversal: Over the past 12 years, residents throughout the state have listened to McDonald, the “Voice of the Cavaliers,” broadcast football and men’s basketball games for the University of Virginia.
That partnership ended Tuesday when McDonald offered the school his resignation.
“I do have a couple of really neat opportunities that I can’t talk about because it involves other people, and because of that I am not at liberty to say,” McDonald said Wednesday. “It will happen in a short while and then that release will come out and people will say, ‘Oh, really.’
“While everybody thinks it was a firing, it was a resignation by mutual consent. I gave my resignation and the university accepted it. Was there some kind of friction? No. I don’t think that anything I did rubbed people the wrong way.”
McDonald, a five-time state sportscaster of the year, was known as much for his work with local charities as he was for his beaming voice when calling game-winning plays on the airwaves.
“I think Mac is a bigger part of the community than just Virginia football,” Hogsten said. “Anytime we had anything with fire prevention week and stuff like that, if we needed a live broadcast or publicity, he would put a plug in for us.
“I worked with him quite a bit with that type of thing and he has always looked after us at the fire department. I hate to see him go and I don’t know the motivating factors behind it, but if he improved himself, I support it.”
Like many polled in Central Virginia on Wednesday, Hogsten said that McDonald is the only name that comes to mind when talking about Virginia athletics on the radio.
“When you think Virginia football, I can’t remember anyone else to be honest with you, and I have been a fan for quite a long time,” Hogsten said. “I just kind of blocked everything else out.”
McDonald, 54, has served as the director of broadcasting for the Virginia Sports Network since the start of the 1996 football season. It was his second stint with UVa — McDonald also handled play-by-play duties from 1980 to 1985.
“I think what I did was give my heart and soul to the university and tried to represent every program, every kid, every coach, every talk show that I did the best way that I know how,” McDonald said. “Not everybody loved my style, but there are people that think Bob Costas sucks.
“That’s OK, but nobody really worked harder at their craft and then tried to pass along knowledge of their craft to younger guys.”
Jed Williams, a former sideline reporter with the Virginia Sports Network, can attest to that.
“When I was 18 and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and first got to UVa and had no clue what I was doing, all I wanted was a sniff,” he said. “Mac went out of his way to embrace me and really mentored me for several years. He gave me opportunities beyond anything that I could have conceived of when I was just on as an intern.
“It’s hard when you are 18 or 19 or 20 to put that in perspective. I look back at it now and think he didn’t have to do that, but he has done that for a lot of people. He has such enthusiasm for it and he wants that to spread to other people. It was a real honor.”
Despite his departure, McDonald remains hopeful that his legacy will continue with his golf tournament. The Mac McDonald Invitational golf tournament has raised more than $500,000 over the past eight years for the UVa Children’s Hospital.
“I hope that what we do is throw a good enough party that they will let me still be a part of it, and let me put my name on it if they want me to put my name on it,” he said. “I don’t think it was about the ‘Voice of the Cavaliers.’ … I think it was my affinity for kids and if I was washing cars, I think that people would say, ‘Hey Mac, you have done enough for this community and you believe in it, and you were passionate enough about the charity and the kids in the hospital so we will put your name on it.’
“I hope that stays. I hope they grace me enough with that.”
Virginia has already launched a nationwide campaign to find McDonald’s replacement.
“Mac McDonald’s name has been synonymous with Virginia athletics for many years and he leaves big shoes to fill as the play-by-play ‘Voice of the Cavaliers,’” Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage said in a statement. “Mac has been effective in articulating the goals of our athletics department and has provided significant service to the Charlottesville community.
“We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”