Kevin Burkhardt

Kevin Burkhardt (born March 2, 1974) is an American sportscaster. He is currently one of the play-by-play voices for Fox NFL, the Tampa Bay Rays on Fox Sports Sun and he was formerly a reporter with SportsNet New York (SNY), Burkhardt was the field reporter during New York Mets telecasts from 2007 to 2014. He also called select Mets games during both spring training and the regular season during that time. He has been the primary studio host for Major League Baseball (MLB) telecasts on Fox and Fox Sports 1 since the 2015 season. Kevin Burkhardt is best known for his part on the pre and postgame coverage for regular season, post-season, and All-Star games.[1]

Kevin Burkhardt
Burkhardt in 2009
Born (1974-03-02) March 2, 1974
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Alma materWilliam Paterson University
OccupationSportscaster
Spouse(s)Rachel
ChildrenLogan

Biography

Early life and career

Burkhardt grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey doing play-by play for Nintendo games in his junior high school days, idolizing Gary Cohen (who was later his partner in the Mets' broadcast booth).[2] He graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1992.[3] A 1997 graduate of William Paterson University, Burkhardt took his degree in broadcasting to radio station WGHT[4] in Northern New Jersey, spending eight years working for the station, covering events including high school football. WGHT radio is known for giving many broadcasters a break.

Burkhardt also worked at Jukebox Radio under the supervision of Joe Nolan, broadcasting New Jersey Jackals minor league games for WJUX, owned by Jerry Turro. Burkhardt worked as a sales associate at Pine Belt Chevrolet in Eatontown, New Jersey, while working as a freelancer early in his career.[1]

From WGHT, Burkhardt got a part-time job working at WFAN, doing freelance work and eventually becoming the station's full-time New York Jets reporter.[2][5][6]

During this time, he was a regular on Out of Bounds for Philadelphia's CN8, did sports reporting for Time Warner Cable, and on sports reports for WCBS 880.[5][6]

SportsNet New York
Burkhardt (left) interviewing R. A. Dickey for SNY in 2012

Burkhardt joined the Mets broadcast team at the beginning of the 2007 season,[7] replacing Chris Cotter. Burkhardt interviewed for the SNY job but never thought he would be hired.[2] On SNY he has appeared on shows such as Mets Hot Stove, Mets Pre-Game Live, Mets Post-Game Live, and Mets Year in Review. Burkhardt left SNY at the end of the 2014 season for a full-time job at Fox.

Burkhardt was also the play-by-play voice for Dallas Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks since the inauguration of its America's Team Radio Network in 2011 until 2013, when he joined the NFL on Fox and was replaced by Kevin Ray.[8] He teamed with Danny White on the broadcasts. He also called college football games for the network.[9]

Fox Sports

In 2013, Burkhardt began calling games for NFL on Fox, teaming with John Lynch and Erin Andrews as the network's #4 announce team. This crew also called the divisional playoff game between the Saints and Seahawks on January 11, 2014.[10] He also did fill-in work for Major League Baseball on Fox in 2012 and 2013, and in 2014 was named as pre-game host for MLB coverage on Fox and Fox Sports 1.[1] On April 24, 2014 it was reported that Burkhardt had agreed to a three-year contract with Fox beginning in 2015.[11] He will also join the Fox College Hoops team.[12]

Personal life

Burkhardt currently resides in Hermosa Beach, California. with his wife, Rachel, and son, Logan. The family previously lived in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey[5]

References
  1. Deitsch, Richard (March 2, 2014). "Kevin Burkhardt lands MLB gig with Fox, Fox Sports 1, more". SI.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  2. Samuel, Ebenezer (15 May 2010). "On the sidelines with SNY's Mets field reporter Kevin Burkhardt". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  3. Knight, Kevin. "Bloomfield Grad Kevin Burkhardt Makes All The Right Moves at FOX Sports", TAP into Bloomfield, December 14, 2018. Accessed January 16, 2021. "Burkhardt, a 1992 graduate of Bloomfield High School, can be seen every Sunday afternoon calling football games for NFL on FOX Sports."
  4. "OverKnight Success". Kevin Knight. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  5. "Mets On-Air Talent". SNY. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  6. "Mets Broadcasters". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2010-07-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Compass Media Networks Announces Broadcast Talent For 2011 Football Season," Compass Media Networks press release, Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Archived October 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Stapleton, Art. "Mets' Kevin Burkhardt also radio voice of Cowboys," The Record (Bergen County, NJ), Sunday, January 1, 2012.
  10. Yoder, Matt. "Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch will call NFL playoff game for Fox". Awful Announcing. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  11. Burke, Don (April 25, 2014). "Kevin Burkhardt leaving SNY after season". New York Post. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  12. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2014/11/13/iconic-voices-return-for-fox-sports-extensive-college-basketball-coverage-36415/20141113fox01/
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