Voices of the Valley NCAA Edition

Behind the Scenes With Brent Stover

(St. Louis, MO) – Brent Stover is the CBS Sports Network ‘Voice of the Valley’ announcing the Arch Madness semifinal games every year. Nationally, he is more known for his studio work during March Madness and college football updates for both CBS Sports Network and big CBS.

On the day of the Dayton play-in games, I wanted to catch up with the Valley’s main network connection on the college basketball national scene, and the former Fox Sports Midwest reporter was gracious enough to spend a few minutes with us from his home in New York!

Throughout the NCAA Tournament, you will be seeing a lot of Stover and others from the studio/high light show they do each afternoon and evening during our favorite month of the year.

The eight-year veteran of CBS Sports Network tells me he’s something of a ‘pass-first point guard’ on the CBS set.

 

 

The cast of ‘experts’ on the set is impressive and they know basketball, the rumors, the statistics and the nuances of what is taking place. Stover says he wants to set up his co-workers and let them instruct the rest of us.

 

 

Stover has done it all in broadcasting. He worked here in the Gateway City on two different occasions as a side-line reporter and studio host with the Cardinals. He has been a play-by-play announcer, in game reporter and studio host for various CBS platforms and sports. So, like you, I wanted to know which take he enjoys the most.

 

 

Turning our attention to tournament at hand, Stover says he doesn’t think there is a clear-cut favorite to win this year’s national championship, but he does think there is a very real chance that double-digit seeds could be taking successful trips to at least the second weekend of March’s madness.

 

 

Obviously our interest is in the participating Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conference teams. Eleventh seeded Loyola Chicago plays on the opening day of the tournament against Miami and Murray State (a 12th seed) faces West Virginia Friday.

Stover thinks both teams we’re following have a chance at advancing.

 

 

As we’re writing this story, we’re hearing that Evansville’s Marty Simmons may not be returning to coach the Purple Aces this season, and Paul Lusk has already been released at Missouri State. There are times in covering our great game that unfortunate things take place.

I asked Brent if he can stay in touch with all the rumors of hirings and firings and he says categorically ‘ ‘no’. He was also saddened by Lusk’s departure from MSU.

 

 

Sports in general, and basketball in the specific is a game about relationships, journeys, and conversations with people around the game become just as important as the games themselves. Like this conversation with Stover, it is the countless interviews, discoveries, friendships and informal discussions that make college basketball a special world.

Stover agrees and says there’s nothing like being at the Final Four.

 

 

You can find Stover on CBS Sports Network and on any of the various CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV networks over the next month of basketball. His co-hosts Jon Rothstein, Wally Szczerbiak, Brendan Haywood, Danny Granger, Gary Parrish, Swin Cash and he will be breaking down game after game and helping you and me enjoy the contests and all of the back stories and human interest aspects of all that goes on in March Madness.

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