There are few major sporting events that Goodland, Indiana, native Joe McConnell didn’t cover in his 40-year career. Not only did he call three Super Bowls, the NBA Championship series, the NBA All-Star Game, and the American League Championship Series, but he was the voice of multiple professional and college teams that include the hometown Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers, and college athletics at Indiana State, Notre Dame, and Purdue. A graduate of Franklin College, Joe was five-time winner of the AP/UPI Sportscaster of the Year and was been named Sportscaster of the Year in both Indiana (2000) and Illinois (1981).  Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels named Joe a “Sagamore of the Wabash” upon his retirement from Purdue in 2009.

McConnell died April 8, 2018, at age 79.