GRAND FORKS — Tim Hennessy isn’t a full-time employee at UND anymore, but the longtime hockey radio play-by-play man might still call games subsequent season beneath a new construction.
UND notified Hennessy on July 8 that it’s eliminating his full-time place inside the athletic division and indicated that the boys’s hockey radio play-by-play place will be structured beneath Fighting Hawks Sports Partnerships.
Most of UND’s radio play-by-play announcers are at the moment paid by Fighting Hawks Sports Partnerships on a recreation-by-recreation foundation, together with Jack Michaels (soccer and girls’s basketball play-by-play), Darrin Looker (UND hockey street play-by-play or analyst), Mike LaMoine (UND hockey analyst) and Mike Berg (UND soccer analyst).
Men’s basketball play-by-play announcer Paul Ralston, who serves as UND’s assistant athletic director for broadcast properties, is paid by the varsity. Ralston is Hennessy’s supervisor.
Hennessy mentioned he met with UND athletic director Bill Chaves and Ralston two weeks in the past.
“They said they’re going to let me go, so that was that,” Hennessy mentioned. “Paul was there and he said they think something can be worked out with Fighting Hawks Partnerships.”
Hennessy, who has referred to as UND hockey games on the radio for 46 seasons, mentioned he plans to do one other 12 months if every part works out.
“I’m not going to bad-mouth anybody,” Hennessy mentioned. “I have no idea how or when anything will come out of Fighting Hawks Partnerships. I haven’t heard anything from them yet. It’s been three weeks now. Maybe we can work something out.”
Chaves mentioned that as a result of it is a personnel concern, he is restricted in what he can say.
“What I can say is that it’s an ongoing conversation at this stage of the game and nothing has been solidified at this time regarding who is going to call hockey games, as we are still working through some conversations with iHeart Media,” Chaves mentioned.
UND is coping with the aftermath of iHeartwork Media’s huge nationwide layoffs earlier this month. The layoffs included the Grand Forks workplace. Hennessy and Ralston’s day by day morning present was taken off the air together with almost each different native program.
Hennessy mentioned he believes iHeartwork plans on honoring its radio contract with UND, although the layoffs created a number of points to handle.
Chaves mentioned these points are at the moment being resolved.
“We’ve had several very good conversations with iHeart and feel as if something will occur in the not-so-distant future,” Chaves mentioned. “It just hasn’t happened as of today.”
Hennessy, the 2024 North Dakota Sportscaster of the Year, had a difficult 2025-26 season because of well being points.
Hennessy was unable to journey for street games till the NCAA Frozen Four.
Looker referred to as all of UND’s street common-season games and the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional. Looker additionally crammed in for Hennessy on 4 residence common-season games and one residence exhibition.
Hennessy referred to as 18 games, an exhibition and the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal in Las Vegas.
Fargo radio persona Scott Hennen, who turned a fierce critic of UND athletic director Bill Chaves and present head coach Dane Jackson after the Fighting Hawks let go of former coach Brad Berry final spring, first posted on Twitter/X on Tuesday night time that Hennessy was “fired” and criticized UND’s teaching employees for not reaching out to Hennessy.
But Hennessy advised the Herald that Jackson and basic supervisor Bryn Chyzyk had been amongst a group of people that instantly reached out after seeing Hennen’s social media submit and mentioned they had been beneath the impression Hennessy was returning subsequent season.
Hennessy mentioned that might be the case, relying on his well being and the monetary phrases of a potential cope with Fighting Hawks Sports Partnerships.
Hennessy’s employer has modified a few occasions since he began calling UND hockey games in 1977.
In 1988, Hennessy moved from KNOX to KNCS, the place he spent 13 years.
In 2001, he moved from KNCS to Clear Channel after Clear Channel gained the broadcasting rights to UND athletics.
In 2009, UND started controlling its radio broadcasts and shopping for air time. That led the varsity to start using broadcasters full-time.
Now, UND’s broadcasters on each the radio and tv facet are transferring away from using on-air expertise full-time.
UND’s tv companion, Midco Sports, has laid off a number of full-time on-air workers in recent times. It has rehired a lot of them on a per-recreation foundation.
Midco’s play-by-play announcers at UND — Alex Heinert (males’s hockey, soccer), Brian Shawn (soccer, males’s basketball) and Mitch Wigness (ladies’s basketball) — will not be full-time at Midco.
Schlossman has coated school hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been acknowledged by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the highest beat author for the Herald’s circulation division 4 occasions and the North Dakota sportswriter of the 12 months twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at [email protected].