Stephen F. Austin State University graduate, and longtime Lumberjack, Robert Meyers is entering the next stage of his life and will retire at the end of the month after serving the department of athletics for 25 years.
Meyers joined the department in 1997 as the sports information director and transitioned to the business office in 2005 and currently services as the Associate Athletic Director for Business and Facilities. He has served as the Voice of the Lumberjacks since 2005.
“Rob has poured his heart and soul into SFA, and no one deserves retirement more. I am so thankful to have been able to work with him over the past five years, and am indebted to him for his wise counsel, support, candor and humor,” said SFA Athletics Director, Ryan Ivey “Rob will never truly know how much he has meant to SFA Athletics and those that have had the opportunity to work alongside of him. He truly is a one-of-a-kind individual and I wish he and Eileen the best in their next adventures.”
A 1997 SFA graduate, Meyers came back to finish his degree after starting a career in radio in 1985, which he calls a “sabbatical” and has been a fixture at SFA in some capacity for over 40 years.
He’s seen the highs, lows and everywhere between.
“SFA will always be SFA,” Meyers said. “We take care of each other and have each other’s back. I don’t think that will change and I hope it doesn’t change. That is what makes Nacogdoches and East Texas special.”
The first time Meyers served as play-by-play announcer; he told a “half-truth.” The first game he called was a men’s basketball game between Angelina College and Kilgore College in Kilgore.
“I was asked if I could do play-by-play for the game and said ‘sure’ but wasn’t asked if I’ve ever done a game before,” Meyers said. “I did the game. No one said that I did a bad job, and I continued to do more games, and I fell into that part of doing radio.”
Prior to Meyers beginning his radio career and falling into his career of choice, the Lumberton High School graduate’s interest in broadcasting and sports started as a child.
Meyers’ favorite play-by-play announcers are Pat Summerall, Al Michaels, Joe Buck, Keith Jackson, Tom Brookshier, and Verne Lundquist.
“Growing up in this part of Texas, we all listened to Pat Summerall call Dallas Cowboy games,” Meyers said. “At that time, every game wasn’t on television like it is today. It was Pat Summerall and the Dallas Cowboys.”
Meyers passion is play-by-play for baseball.
“I originally wanted to do baseball,” Meyers said. “Bill Brown (served as Astros radio play-by-play announcer from 1987-2016), told me the best way to get your foot in the door was just to be around it.”
He would frequent Astros’ games “a lot” and would go to the Astrodome to “hangout” and learn what happens behind the scenes. It served as a learning experience that Meyers carried throughout his radio career.
When Meyers was tapped to be the Voice of the Lumberjacks in 2005, it made perfect sense for all parties involved. Meyers serves as the play-by-play voice for the Lumberjack football and men’s basketball teams and has been on the call for the ‘Jacks most recent and biggest win in recent history.
The 2013-14 men’s basketball team easily stands out. The Lumberjacks went 18-0 in conference play and cruised to the Southland Conference championship and qualified as the No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament.
SFA defeated VCU 77-75 in thrilling overtime fashion. For Meyers, the win over VCU showed how far SFA has come.
“There was a time when we were happy to just play in the conference tournament and be competitive,” Meyers said. “This team was dominant in so many ways. To win that NCAA tournament game meant so much to so many people.”
The game that put SFA on the map and into the national spotlight was the win over No. 1 Duke.
“That was such a surreal experience. When we landed at the airport, we all turned our phones back on and there were so many messages. Got in the car to drive back home and turned-on ESPN radio and the first thing I hear is me with the call. I remember the game-winning basket and for a brief period of time lost my mind, but had to come back and be professional.”
When the team landed, Meyers helped orchestrate media calls with Sports Center, Mike & Mike, Dan Patrick and Good Morning America. Meyers himself was interviewed on KRLD in Dallas-Fort Worth about the experience.
“What made the Duke win even better is that it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and it had some extra shelf life because there was not a lot going on.”
Being with the football team for their recent trip to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in 12 years, and this past season’s WAC championship will stay with Meyers for quite some time.
“We’ve had some lean years in football,” Meyers said. “Coach Carthel has done a great job rebuilding the program from what he inherited to what it is now.”
Meyers life changed for the better when he met his best friend and wife, the former Eileen McCormick, who is the Director of Special Education at the SFA Charter School.
“Eileen has been my biggest supporter and is my best friend,” Meyers said. “We’ve built a life that we are proud of. I know that she is excited as well.”
From their union the couple have three sons: Matthew, Christopher and Timothy
Matt is an engineer and lives in McKinney and has blessed Rob and Eileen with three grandchildren: Oliver, Isaac, and Evalynn. Chris is the tight ends coach at South Dakota State and Tim lives in Tyler and sells insurance for Liberty Mutual.
Overall, Meyers has no qualms about his journey at SFA.
“This has been a great place to work and there are plenty friendships and relationships that I will always value,” added Meyers. “The one thing that I will miss is being around the student-athletes and coaches and the competitive environment that we all live in”
Meyers will lead a busy life in retirement. He plans to spend more time with his children, grandchildren, and has a trip planned to Scotland to play golf.
Despite retiring from SFA, Meyers will stay in Nacogdoches and plans to maintain a presence in the community. He will continue to be the radio voice of Lumberjack Athletics for football and men’s basketball.