‘Scholastic Ball Report,’ a piece of Ky. high school sports history, signs off
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- ‘Scholastic Ball Report’ ends its 23-year run with a final show on CWKYT Sunday.
- Show highlighted 2,100 athlete interviews, 100 interns and numerous school sports.
- Creator Gary Ball retires from ‘SBR’ but continues calling PrepSpin.com football games.
The “Scholastic Ball Report,” a television fixture for Kentucky high school sports every fall through spring for more than two decades, signs off with a one-hour finale on the CWKYT at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“SBR” has aired more than 700 shows and included more than 2,100 interviews of high school athletes and coaches from around the state since 2003 and employed more than 100 high school student interns in its production in front of and behind the camera.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Gary Ball, the cocreator and host of the long-running program, reflected on the show’s impact after its final taping last week.
“I think it’s meant a lot to high school athletics and it’s meant a lot to the kids because they knew they could be in any sport and be on the show,” said Ball, who carried on with the tapings during his retirement years even after suffering a stroke in November of 2020. “There’s no other show that gave them that opportunity. We had bowlers, bass fishing, archery, you name it — with boys and girls highlighted.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the show brought student athletes, coaches and sometimes entire teams into the WKYT studios to be featured along with game highlights each week presented by WKYT sports anchors. After the pandemic, video calls replaced in-person interviews.
As Ball recovered from his stroke, his wife and “SBR” executive producer, Brigid DeVries, a former Kentucky High School Athletic Association commissioner, helped stand in for him.
“It had a good run. I mean, it ran for 23 years,” Ball said. “And we ended on a good note. The WKYT people were all into it. I couldn’t believe it. There were people getting emotional about it.”
Sunday’s show will feature many of “SBR’s” most memorable moments, including interviews with legendary high school coaches and a number of its Crown Trophy Scholar Athletes as well as remembrances from former interns and Cincinnati Reds two-time World Series champion infielder Doug Flynn, a Lexington native who co-hosted “SBR” for a time.
Ball acknowledged getting a little emotional, too, especially during the segment when former intern Cami Moore Williams talked about what the show meant to her. Moore Williams is now associate director of athletics communications at the University of Kentucky.
Other former interns included Spectrum News anchor Mario Anderson and social media personality Parker Pannell, whose credits include the Nickelodeon comedy series “Warped!”
Years ago, Ball and another former KHSAA commissioner, Louis Stout, approached then-WKYT general manager Wayne Martin with the idea for the “Scholastic Ball Report.”
“Wayne Martin was all about promoting high school sports and very supportive of the ‘SBR’ concept, and that’s how the show began,” Ball said.
Current KHSAA commissioner Julian Tackett praised the show and will be part of a segment on Sunday with DeVries talking about its importance over the years.
“I think Gary and Louis’ vision came true,” Tackett told the Herald-Leader. “They were able to give people a spotlight that might not have gotten it before. The thing that was great about it is they kept the focus on academics and participation. It wasn’t just about the All-Americans. … It’s great that they’re at least having one last chance to say goodbye.
“Gary’s heart and soul has been poured into that. It’s been a great project.”
While Ball is stepping away from “SBR,” he continues to call high school football games for PrepSpin.com along with former Paul Laurence Dunbar coach Mike Meighan and owner/director William Warfield, another longtime “SBR” contributor. Warfield recently signed a deal for their weekly PrepSpin.com games to air on one of WKYT’s sub-channels and be featured on the WKYT+ app.
In addition to airing on CWKYT at 1 p.m. Sunday, the “Scholastic Ball Report” will be available for streaming on WKYT’s YouTube channel and the “SBR” Facebook page.
