UE names Mason new ‘Voice of the Aces’

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Tommy Mason

UE on Wednesday named Tommy Mason its next ‘Voice of the Aces’ at men’s basketball games. The Indianapolis Mason previously announced on-court promotions, and he also calls UE soccer matches as well as some baseball and all Evansville IceMen games.

Mason will make his official debut at Thursday’s Hoopfest, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Ford Center. He succeeds John MacCauley, the long-time PA voice of UE men’s basketball who died this summer of a heart attack.

“(John) showed me how to do it,” Mason said. “I was able to fill in for him on a few occasions where he was either sick or out of town, and I was always honored to be able to do that – sit in his seat – and try to mimic how he did things just so folks didn’t seem put off by me. I just tried to do things like John did them.”

MacCauley had his signature “THREEEEEEE POINTS” call. Mason hasn’t decided upon his men’s basketball calling card just yet.

“I’ve already thought about how to say names a little differently,” he said. “I don’t want to do things exactly like John did it. I don’t think that’s what he’d expect. I’d much rather have John up in the stands for a few years telling me what I did wrong every night, because there’s no better person to ask for advice from than him.”

Mason, who’s worked with UE’s athletic department since 2006, pays the bills with his midday radio show on 93.5 FM.

He describes himself as a UE fan and said he’d be at the games even if the university didn’t name him the next ‘Voice.’ Mason’s Aces fanhood started while he was working a morning radio show in Wisconsin about 10 years ago.

“They were on the loop all morning on ESPN with the play of the night,” Mason said. “They’d hit a shot to beat Creighton, and I saw the crowd rush the court and jump up and down. They had that ‘dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun’ moment, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s Evansville.’ And when I got back in town, I started going to the games.”

Look for more on Mason in Thursday’s paper, and expect to hear him all season.