Cavs announcer to receive Blugold Spirit Award

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Long-time public address announcer Dave Hanson is the recipient of UW-Eau Claire’s 2012 Jim Mueller Blugold Spirit Award, Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon has announced.  The award will be presented at the Blugold Hall of Fame banquet October 13.

The award was established in 2010 to recognize someone outside the UW-Eau Claire athletics program who has made contributions to the program for an extended period of time.  The award was named after its first recipient Jim “Curly” Mueller, a tireless volunteer for Blugold athletics after his retirement from the university as a locksmith in 1996.

Hanson, a 1975 Eau Claire North and 1980 UW-Eau Claire grad, began doing PA announcing for Blugold football games in 1982.  In 1990-91, he started doing women’s basketball games.  He is expected to be behind the mike for some 60 Blugold home events this year in seven different sports.  In just the past three years, he has done 194 Blugold contests and estimates he has done more than 1500 games since he began his association with Blugold athletics.

Hanson has been on the PA mike for some major events hosted by UW-Eau Claire including the 2003 and 2011 NCGA Gymnastics nationals, four NCAA Division III national softball championships, the 1994 NCAA Division III women’s basketball Final Four as well as other conference and regional tournaments.

Besides football, Hanson also works men’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey, gymnastics, soccer and softball games.  Over the years, he has also done volleyball, track and wrestling.

As a broadcast journalism major at UWEC, Hanson was the sports director of the student radio station, following on the heels of another well-known local broadcaster Hayes Callaghan.  The two have done at least one radio broadcast a year ever since.  Hanson is in his 26^th year of broadcasting at WCFW and, at one time, helped do “Best of the Preps” on the former WISM and WOKL radio stations.  He also assists Mike Sullivan on broadcasts by Clear Channel Communications.

Hanson has also been behind the microphone for the Eau Claire Cavaliers since 1979 and the Eau Claire Predators since their inception.  He has also done American Legion and Chippewa River League baseball games.

The previous recipients of the award include Jim Mueller (2010), Bill Arnsdorf (2011) and Milt & Marci Siker (2011).

Story and photo by: www.blugolds.com