It’s a voice you will recognize, it’s a voice that will give you chills when it comes over the speakers: The voice of the Cats, Adam Howe.
Howe started with announcing the annual basketball tournaments a long, long time ago. Off and on, he has announced for the Wildcats athletic programs for probably almost 20 years. He has done football announcing full-time since 2017.
It takes a lot of passion to dedicate time to calling each home game and rallying the crowd behind the team.
“My passion probably comes from being a former Wildcat myself, and bleeding that green for all these years. I also derive a lot of motivation from the players; whether it’s football, volleyball, basketball, or whatever. When the kids ask me to do it, it’s always hard to say “no.” I know that they like it when I’m in the press box or at the table (and they don’t like it when I’m not), so I never want to let them down,” Howe said.
When Howe was in high school, he was a part of The Wildcat student newspaper family, but never studied broadcast journalism. Broadcasting/announcing never really crossed his mind until he was asked.
Howe loves and enjoys broadcasting and announcing, so he claims there really isn’t anything to be nervous about. He does, however, still get “butterflies” for the game itself though.
Howe finds that the job comes easy and has a natural personality for it.
“The public address (PA) part is not difficult, but neither is my part for broadcasting for BCE TV. For the PA, the hardest part is getting cooperation from everyone in order to put the script together beforehand and having it ready for game time. Once the game starts, I have a lot of help in the press box, so those guys make my job a lot easier. For BCE TV, Matt Dove does the hard part (play-by-play) and Drew Burdick does the camera. I put a lot of work into researching opponents and games when I’m going to be on BCE TV because I want to know what I’m talking about for the viewers. But really, I just show up, put on the headset, and talk, and I’m pretty good at that,” Howe said.
The previous Wildcat announcer was retired Warsaw teacher and principal, John Carleton. Carleton was the original voice of the Cats. He had announced for 22 years before being diagnosed with throat cancer.
“I cannot thank Randy Morrow enough for allowing me to be a part of an amazing program and having faith in me to help make our program the first-class team we were and still are! Randy always believed every team deserved respect . . . win or lose. I tried to make that ethic part of my announcing every game,” said Carleton.
In early years, the press box was in a small section on what is now the visitor’s side of the field. As the Wildcat’s success grew, they built the new bleachers that are seen today.
“At some time after moving to the new booth, Ag Slavens became my spotter and was at my side for many years. He was very good at his assignment and I feel we worked as a well-oiled machine. Ag and I are still close friends and we often reminisce about our days in the booth. A side note . . . we had the best seats in the stadium. It never rained or snowed on us and our view was stellar,” said Carleton.
Carleton enjoyed being the voice of the Cats and will always be grateful for the opportunity he was given.
“In retrospect, those 22 years as the Voice of the Cats were some of the most wonderful years of my life. Thank you, Randy and all the Wildcat fans, coaches and players that were part of my run,” said Carleton.
Howe ended up taking over the position after Carleton’s retirement.
“Adam was one of my students from the past and it really pleased me to see him at the helm. As a teacher/principal you feel each of the students you have touched carry a part of you with them. What a treat to see one of my boys step up and carry the tradition forward. He is an excellent announcer and gets the ‘ethic’ part of the equation,” said Carleton.
While announcing, Howe sometimes remembers back to when he heard Carleton’s voice over the speakers while he played.
“When I announce, there are times when what I’m reading or saying, I can hear in Mr. C’s voice, if that makes sense. Mr. C did a great job of getting the fans’ attention and creating crowd excitement, and that’s what I try to do too. The boys (and/or girls) all do their work throughout the week to put a quality product on the field/floor. It’s my job to make sure that folks in attendance show their appreciation for that,” said Howe.
