Matt Shepard (born ) is an American sportscaster. Shepard was the 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Bally Sports Detroit FanDuel Sports Network Detroit is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the st ...

from 2019 to 2023. He has also covered professional, collegiate and high school sports on both television and radio in

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

since the 1990s.

Early life and education

Shepard was born in

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States censu ...

. He graduated from

North Farmington High School North Farmington High School is a public school (government funded), public high school located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The school was established in 1961 and educates a student body of approximately 1,300. The Principal (school), pri ...

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

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

with a degree in broadcasting.

Career

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

Fox Sports Detroit FanDuel Sports Network Detroit is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the sta ...

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 * Misnomer for a hydraulic cylinder * Piston (optics) * Piston (subcellular structure) * Piston valve * Fire piston, an ancient device ...

and

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

. He also hosted the Pistons pregame show and the

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

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

WDFN WDFN (1130 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM Radio broadcasting, radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an all-news radio radio format, format under iHeartRadio's Black Informatio ...

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 to 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 List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 1660 WQLR in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, and 101.1 WGRY in

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan (also known as Northern Lower Michigan and colloquially within Michigan as "Up North") is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The region, which is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsul ...

(

Grayling Grayling or Greyling may refer to: Animals Fish * Grayling, generically, any fish of the genus ''Thymallus'' in the family Salmonidae ** European grayling (''Thymallus thymallus''), the type species of the genus ''Thymallus'' ** Arctic grayling ( ...

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

), and is a

sports reporter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

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

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

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'' 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 NFL's Detroit Lions preseason games and related coverage. On May 21, 2015, the Detroit Lions ...

. 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, h ...

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 with the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

. Bally Sports announced on October 3, 2023, that Shepard will not be returning for the 2024 season. The ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

'' wrote that Shepherd "never completely clicked" in the Tiger broadcast booth, exacerbated by the poor on-field product that the Tigers fielded during his tenure. In 2023, Shepard's final season, ''Awful Announcing'' ranked the Tigers' television booth last among the 30 MLB teams. Under

Jason Benetti Jason Robert Benetti (born September 9, 1983) is an American sportscaster. He is the primary television play-by-play announcer for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball on FanDuel Sports Network. From 2016 to 2023, Benetti was the lead p ...

, Shepard's replacement, the booth rose to 10th in 2024, the Tigers' highest ever placement.

Personal life

Shepard resides in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...

, with his wife Lisa and four children.Matt Shepard Profile at WDFN.com
/ref>

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 NBA broadcasters NFL announcers People from Farmington Hills, Michigan Year of birth missing (living people)