Alum
Thomas Ackerman
Sports director and morning show co-anchor at KMOX radio
Tom Ackerman, BA’97, sports director and morning show co-anchor at KMOX radio
"Since I was a little kid, I was enamored with telling the story of sports. I grew up in a city, St. Louis, where Jack Buck was a legendary sportscaster, Bob Costas started his career there, and numerous others, Joe Buck, and others. It was really part of the culture there, and I was fascinated with it from a very young age.
As a freshman, [I was] trying to get a slot on what was then called WIUS. They called and said, 'We have a slot for you, and it’s gonna be on Monday from 3-6 a.m.,' and I said, 'I’m in.' I then got a shot to do an IU basketball game. That led to another one, which led to eventually a sports talk show and more play-by-play opportunities. I found out that there was an opening to be a stringer for USA Today to cover IU football and eventually basketball, and I got that.
After I graduated in 1997, I applied at a few radio stations because that’s what I knew best. I had so much confidence that I went after my hometown station, KMOX, knowing that it was a legendary radio station and that to get on the air there would be far-fetched. I applied to an opening they had running the board and producing, and I got the job. And I knew once I was in, I could see how the best of the best do it. There was a chance that if I’m good and an opportunity opens up, I could be on the air there. A job opened up, I went for it and I got it. I’ve been at KMOX for 25 years. I went from producer to reporter to host to sports director to news anchor, but really I still do all of those things. And it’s been a great run.
It’s not always glamorous. You’re working nights. You’re working weekends. It’s not your normal 9-5, but that’s what makes it great. It requires a lot of hard work, but there is a great reward on the other side."
Written By Kara Williams
Photos By Izzy Myszak