Rich Brenner (November 24, 1946 – February 27, 2012) was an American television sportscaster.

Life and career

Brenner was a graduate of

Baldwin-Wallace College Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio, United States. Established in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin, it merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallac ...

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,545 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A western suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. Berea is home ...

. He was student senate president, sports editor of the college newspaper, Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, and a member of

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from BW in 1968. Rich broadcasts his first football game at his college over the radio with play-by-play reports in October 1965, and spent the summer of 1967, between his sophomore and junior years of college, as a correspondent in Vietnam. He began with television career in 1975 American television sportscaster. For two decades, he reported with

WGHP WGHP (channel 8) is a television station licensed to High Point, North Carolina, United States, serving the Piedmont Triad region as an affiliate of the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on Francis ...

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

until his retirement in April 2008. He was a captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. In 1972, he joined the 4th Civil Affairs Group located at the Washington, DC Navy Yard. He served as a platoon leader and rose to the rank of Captain before leaving that unit in June 1975. Rich anchored sports for WLVA in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

(1975–1977); WAVY in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

(1977–1978); WRAL, Raleigh, North Carolina (1978–1981); WMAQ, Chicago, Illinois (1981–1983); WTVD, Durham, North Carolina (1983–1986) and WGHP, Greensboro, North Carolina (1987–2008). Rich worked tirelessly for charities in his community and across the state. He was a dedicated volunteer, who donated his time as emcee for many fundraising events and charities. He also served as a tutor to kindergartners at Pilot Elementary School. Rich also found time to teach a broadcasting class at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

. There is a scholarship offered at UNCGreensboro and another at the Corrigan/Faircloth Chapter for the National Football Foundation in Rich's name. He has mentored hundreds of young aspiring sportscasters and journalist over his 34 years in broadcasting.

Death

On February 27, 2012, Rich developed a cough during a talk given to military and first responders at "The American Red Cross Salute to Heroes" He was taken to Moses Cone hospital where he died that evening of a heart attack. Rich was speaking about a passion of his and many others to finish building the Carolina Field of Honor, which was opened on Memorial Day 2013.

Awards

*Silver Circle Award from the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

*(3) Southeast Regional Emmy awards *

Iris Award The NATPE Iris Awards is an honor for local television programming presented annually in the United States by the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). The awards were first introduced in 1968 and were initially titled ...

from the

National Association of Television Program Executives The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), now branded as Content First, is a professional organization representing television programming executives and content creators. Founded in 1964 in response to the Prime Time Acc ...

*Charlie Harville award *Grady Elmore award *Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame *NCHSAA Hall of Fame *1977 Virginia Sportscaster of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenner, Rich 1946 births 2012 deaths Baldwin Wallace University alumni Sports commentators United States Marine Corps reservists United States Marines