Mark Duane Followill is an American sports announcer, currently for Bally Sports, covering basketball, soccer and football.
Career
editEarly in his career, Followill worked in various positions at KTCK The Ticket in Dallas including as host of The Ender. He still makes regular contributions to the station. He also had a stint at KTOK in Oklahoma City.[1]
Basketball
editFollowill is the television play-by-play voice for the Dallas Mavericks, a position he's held since 2005. He and analyst Derek Harper won a Lone Star Emmy award in 2014 for their work on Mavericks broadcasts.[2] Followill had previously been the radio play-by-play voice for the Mavericks on 103.3 ESPN Radio from 2001 to 2005.[3] He won the Katie Award for Best Play-by-Play Sportscast in 2002 and the Texas Associated Press Award for Best Play-by-Play Broadcast in 2004 and 2005.[4]
Soccer
editFollowill was previously the television play-by-play announcer for FC Dallas. In 2012, he began calling FCD games except when they conflicted with his responsibilities with the Mavericks.[5] His work with FC Dallas gained the attention of Fox Sports, who named him as one of their announcers for Copa America Centenario.[6] Later that summer, he was named as one of the announcers for NBC's coverage of soccer at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7] He returned to NBC for the Olympics in 2020 and 2024. In 2017, Fox named him part of their team covering that year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.[8] He has also called UEFA Europa League, Bundesliga, MLS, FIFA U-17 World Cup, and FIFA U-20 World Cup action for Fox.[9] He was also an announcer for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[10] After all MLS television broadcasts moved to Apple TV+, Followill joined the broadcasting team for MLS Season Pass in 2023.
Football
editFollowill also announces play-by-play action for college football telecasts for Fox Sports.[1] Earlier in his career, he was the play-by-play announcer for the SMU football team.
Personal life
editFollowill is a native of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.[11] He graduated from Northwest High School in Justin, Texas. He attended the University of North Texas but left to pursue his broadcasting career. In 2020, three years after resuming course work, he graduated from North Texas with a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree.
References
edit- ^ a b "Oklahoma State football: FSN's Mark Followill, Brian Baldinger and J.C. Pearson will call OSU-Iowa State". NewsOK.com. 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- ^ "FOX Sports Southwest wins seven Lone Star Emmys". FOX Sports. 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- ^ "Mark Followill - Official Website of the Dallas Mavericks". The Official Site of the Dallas Mavericks. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
- ^ "Broadcast Info - Official Website of the Dallas Mavericks". The Official Site of the Dallas Mavericks. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- ^ "New FCD announcer Mark Followill featured in DMN". FC Dallas. March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ Sports, Fox. "FOX reveals announcing teams for Copa America Centenario". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
- ^ "Schedule of NBC Sports' commentators for Olympics soccer tournament - World Soccer Talk". Schedule of NBC Sports’ commentators for Olympics soccer tournament. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
- ^ "FOX Sports Unveils Top-Notch Broadcast Team for CONCACAF Gold Cup | Fox Sports PressPass". Fox Sports PressPass. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- ^ "TV Broadcast". FC Dallas. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ Harris, Christopher (2018-04-25). "FOX to broadcast World Cup with mostly American commentators from LA studio". World Soccer Talk. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
- ^ "On the Air | The North Texan". northtexan.unt.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-20.