Virginia finds new voice

By Jay Jenkins

Published: June 24, 2008

By Jay Jenkins
| 978-7250

Typically, it would be rare for a college basketball coach to hear the radio broadcasts of their team’s games.
That is not the case, however, at the University of Vermont.
Hajj Turner, a local legend on the hardwood when he played at Charlottesville High, has listened to every game that Vermont’s play-by-play voice Dave Koehn has broadcasted.
“We watch the game film the day after the game and it includes the radio broadcast,” said Turner, an assistant coach on the men’s basketball staff at Vermont. “He is really good.”
If Turner is driving through his hometown in the next year, he will hear that same voice. CBS Collegiate Sports Properties announced at 5:14 p.m. that Koehn (pronounced CANE) was tabbed the new “Voice of the Cavaliers.” He will handle the play-by-play for men’s basketball, football and potentially baseball and lacrosse.
“A chance to become a part of a program like the University of Virginia which has such a rich tradition, is a tremendous honor and truly an opportunity of a lifetime” Koehn said in a released statement. “My wife and I are excited to get to Charlottesville and become a part of the University and community family.”
A 1999 graduate of Kansas, Koehn has been at Vermont since the 2005-06 basketball season and handled the play-by-play duties for the Vermont Lake Monsters, a short-season Class A affiliate for Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals. A native of Colorado, Koehn also gained experience with football earlier in his career at Texas Lutheran (NCAA Division III) and Sam Houston State (NCAA Division I-AA).
It is Koehn’s booming voice, Turner said, that stands out immediately.
“That is his strongest quality, but not his only quality,” said Turner, a 2001 graduate of Louisville. “Dave has the million dollar voice.”
Apparently, Koehn was in high demand and was the top candidate for the vacant position handling football at Boise State before the offer arrived from UVa. He was one of 10 finalists from a pool of 120 applicants.
For more information and thoughts from Koehn, check Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Progress.