FARMVILLE, Va. -- Darius Thigpen, Longwood assistant director of athletics communications for new media, has been appointed as the new voice of the Lancers and will serve as the primary play-by-play man for Longwood men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball on WVHL Kickin' Country 92.9 FM.
 
Thigpen, who joined the Longwood athletics department in November 2015, will take the broadcast reins on Longwood's flagship radio station from long-time broadcaster Scott Bacon, who served as the voice of the Lancers for nine years before being named deputy athletics director for external relations at Jacksonville University.
 
The on-air duties will be an expansion of Thigpen's current role at Longwood where he is not only the media relations contact for the Longwood baseball team, but also the department's primary play-by-play voice for all sports on the Big South Network. He also handled select play-by-play and color commentary duties for Longwood men's basketball, baseball and softball on WVHL 92.9 FM in 2015-16, and will take on that role in a full-time capacity beginning this season.
 
"This is an awesome blessing and a huge honor," said Thigpen, a 2014 graduate of Ohio State University where he was the president of Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio, Ohio State's student-run radio network. Thigpen broadcasted Buckeye football, basketball and several Olympic sports while in Columbus, where he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism.
 
"I don't take the title lightly, and I know I have a lot to live up to in Scott Bacon and Jon Schaeffer, who both did tremendous work before me and continue to do great work elsewhere. I'm thankful for Scott and Jon hiring me to my last two positions and thankful for the opportunity to continue to bring Lancer nation the great broadcast quality it expects and deserves."
 
Prior to his hiring at Longwood, Thigpen served stints with the media relations and broadcast operations of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and Columbus Clippers, Triple-A farm teams of the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians, respectively. With those franchises, Thigpen served as studio host of the pregame and postgame shows, assisted the radio crew with their in-game broadcasts and wrote game recaps throughout the season.
 
Thigpen also has the distinction of working for his two Longwood radio predecessors, Bacon and Schaeffer, the latter of which was Longwood's radio announcer from 2004-07 and is currently the vice president of media and communications with the IronPigs.
 
"We're thrilled to elevate Darius to our full-time play-by-play voice of Longwood athletics," said Chris Cook, Longwood assistant vice president for athletics communications. "He is a person of immense talent and versatility, but more importantly, he has demonstrated the work ethic and dedication we value in our department from the first day he stepped foot on campus.
 
"I am fortunate to have two people like Darius and Todd Lindenmuth on our athletics communications staff, who are not only talented but fully committed to our mission of promoting this great university through athletics. Darius is able to do that in a variety of ways, and he clearly cares about his craft, which is evident in his preparation for every event he announces, regardless of sport. He is a dynamic broadcaster with an enviable turn of phrase who has the unique ability to reflect the excitement of a game in his announcing."
 
Thigpen has sat in the broadcaster's booth for every one of Longwood's Big South Network home games this fall, bringing fans the action of the Lancer field hockey, men's soccer and women's soccer teams. His first duty in his official role as voice of the Lancers will come Wednesday, Nov. 2, when he hosts Longwood men's basketball head coach Jayson Gee and women's basketball coach Bill Reinson in the WVHL 92.9 FM studios for a special hour-long preview show.
 
That preview show precedes the Longwood men's basketball preseason opener against neighboring Division III program Hampden-Sydney on Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. in Willett Hall.
 
"This is honestly something I couldn't have dreamed of happening so quickly when I graduated from Ohio State in 2014," Thigpen said. "It's surreal to be in this position in such a short time, but that's a huge credit to guys like Jon, Scott, Chris, and some of my former bosses like Matt Provence with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and both Ryan Mitchell and Scott Leo with the Columbus Clippers. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the direction, advice, and help provided by many others."
 
Thigpen's broadcasts on WVHL can be heard in the Farmville area on 92.9 FM or online at http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/WVHL.
 
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