Matt Shepard (born ) is an American television play-by-play announcer for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Bally Sports Detroit Bally Sports Detroit (BSD) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group that operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the state of Michigan, primarily focusing on those in Metro D ...

. He has also covered professional, collegiate and high school sports on both television and radio in

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

since the 1990s.

Early life and education

Shepard grew up in

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Troy, with a population of 83,986 at the 20 ...

. He graduated from

North Farmington High School North Farmington High School is a public high school located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The school was established in 1961 and, as of the 2019–2020 school year, educates a student body of over 1300. The principal is Joseph Greene. Hi ...

in 1983, where he played football and baseball. In 1988, he graduated from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

with a degree in broadcasting.

Career

Shepard has served in a variety of roles since being hired by

Fox Sports Detroit Bally Sports Detroit (BSD) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group that operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the state of Michigan, primarily focusing on those in Metro D ...

in 1999. Shepard has done CCHA play-by-play, MHSAA championships (Football & Basketball) play-by-play and fill-in play-by-play for the

Pistons A piston is an engineering component of engines and pumps. Piston(s) may also refer to: Science and technology * Piston (optics) * Piston (subcellular structure) * Piston valve * Fire piston, an ancient device for kindling fire * Gas-operated rel ...

and

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

. He also hosted the Pistons pregame show and the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

postgame show. He also contributes as a features reporter for the network, and formerly did sports updates at WWJ from 1993–2001, and at

WDFN WDFN (1130 AM) is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an all-news radio format under iHeartMedia's Black Information Network, targeting Detroit's African American community. Its studios are located in the D ...

for the ''Jamie &

Brady Brady may refer to: People * Brady (surname) * Brady (given name) * Brady (nickname) * Brady Boone, a ring name of American professional wrestler Dean Peters (1958–1998) Places in the United States * Brady, Montana, a census-designated plac ...

'' show from 2001-2007. Shepard was the host of the Shep, Shower 'N' Shave sports radio morning show which was syndicated by Michigan Media Network and heard on 1130

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 1660 WQLR in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, and 101.1 WGRY in

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...

( Grayling/

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

), and is a

sports reporter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for Fox Sports Detroit. He is currently the radio announcer for

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

basketball and Eastern Michigan University football. He is also currently the play-by-play announcer for Detroit Lions pre-season games, as well as the host of ''

The Ford Lions Report The Detroit Lions Television Network is a network of seven television stations (and one cable/satellite channel) in Michigan and Ohio that broadcast the NFL's Detroit Lions preseason games and related coverage. On May 21, 2015, the Detroit Lions a ...

'' during the regular season, on the

Detroit Lions Television Network The Detroit Lions Television Network is a network of seven television stations (and one cable/satellite channel) in Michigan and Ohio that broadcast the National Football League, NFL's Detroit Lions preseason games and related coverage. On May 21, 2 ...

. Shepard was the 2018 recipient of the prestigious

Ty Tyson Edwin Lloyd "Ty" Tyson (May 11, 1888 – December 12, 1968) was an American sports broadcaster and radio play-by-play announcer. Early life Tyson was born in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania and he attended Penn State University. As a young man, ...

Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting presented by Detroit Sports Media (formerly Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.) On January 15, 2019, Shepard was named the play-by-play announcer for the Tigers starting during the 2019 season.

Personal life

Shepard resides in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

with his wife Lisa and four children.Matt Shepard Profile at WDFN.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Matt Living people American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers American television talk show hosts Central Michigan University alumni College baseball announcers in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers College hockey announcers in the United States Detroit Lions announcers Detroit Pistons announcers Detroit Tigers announcers High school basketball announcers in the United States High school football announcers in the United States Major League Baseball broadcasters National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers People from Farmington Hills, Michigan Year of birth missing (living people)