Jeff Rickard is currently the Program Director an
Morning ShowHost at
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which hav ...
’ all-sports radio station,
WFNI
WFNI (1070 AM) is a commercial radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by locally based Emmis Communications and carries a sports radio format, featuring ESPN Radio programming. The studios and offices are located at 40 Monu ...
, in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
.
Career
Rickard started with Emmis as a part-time host and programming advisor before being tapped to take over programming duties full time in August of 2018. Along with former Colts’ lineman and veteran radio host
Joe Staysniak
Joseph Andrew Staysniak (born December 8, 1966) is a former sports radio talk show host and a former professional American football offensive lineman who played six seasons in the NFL. Staysniak worked for the talk radio stations WIBC (FM) and ...
, Rickard began hosting the Fan Morning Show in May of 2019.
Since Rickard has served as the program director, WFNI has consistently increased its ratings share and is now a consistent top performer across both men 25-54 in the Winter 2021 Nielsen ratings.
Rickard has done both radio and television throughout his career with his last television stint coming as part of the now defunct Comcast Network (CN8). Jeff hosted a nightly, half-hour news, highlight and talk show which emanated from a studio in Boston but was available to all Comcast subscribers throughout the eastern United States.
Prior to joining WFNI, Rickard has hosted shows regularly on a number of Sirius XM’s sports channels, including NFL Radio, ESPNU, MLB Network Radio, Mad Dog Sports Radio and Fantasy Sports radio. He has served as the host of NFL Radio’s “The Sunday Kickoff” during the NFL season for the past five years and is the host of College Football Overtime on ESPNU.
Jeff was also the radio host on ESPN Radio’s Gamenight, along with
Doug Gottlieb
Douglas Mitchell Gottlieb (born January 15, 1976) is an American basketball analyst and sports talk radio host. He played both NCAA collegiate basketball, twice leading the nation in assists, and professional basketball (including USBL; leading ...
, Freddie Coleman and
John Seibel
John Seibel (born 1970) is an American broadcaster. He is the former host of KDKA's afternoon drive show ''Seibel, Starkey and Miller'' in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 93.7 The Fan from 2-6 PM. Seibel is currently the Morning news anchor at WDTN, ...
where the team covered nightly sports action, discussed high profile issues and interviewed the biggest names in sports. Prior to his stint at ESPN Radio, Rickard hosted his own daily show on Sporting News Radio as part of a lineup that included James Brown, Tim Brando, and Bruce Murray.
Rickard’s first major programming job came in Salt Lake City where he led KKFN to consistent ratings and revenue success. The station was the radio home of the Utah Jazz and Jeff served as the team’s radio studio host for road games and the television studio host for the final three years of the Jazz’ Stockton and Malone era.
He went to Salt Lake City after working in his hometown of Denver as a morning show host Monday through Fridays while performing as the studio host for both the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche.
Rickard has done play-by-play for college football and basketball on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, MLS soccer for the Colorado Rapids, was the voice of WNBA’s Utah Starzz, and worked with countless other entities on the professional, collegiate and amateur level.
In 2014, Rickard was given the prestigious “Distinguished Alumni” award by Colorado Mesa University where he had studied Broadcast Journalism while also playing on the football team.
Jeff has also been recognized by Richard Deitsch of SI.com as a “national radio personality of the year” in both 2006 and 2007.
Jeff attended
Mesa State College
Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mont ...
in 1985 where he was a member of the football team that played
for two NAIA championships. He resides in Indiana with his wife and his two sons.
References
SI.com's 2006 Media Awards
External links
Jeff Rickard Broadcasting ReelJeff Rickard Radio Reel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Jeff
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American sports announcers
American sports radio personalities
ESPN Radio