Derek Schultz: Fever find their radio voice

After making a habit of saying “yes” to every opportunity during his 15-year career, John Nolan was offered the type of gig that all sports broadcasters dream about: the voice of a major professional team.

Becoming the new radio voice of the Indiana Fever at the start of this season, Nolan is capitalizing on his big break, which is directly coinciding with his new employer’s national breakthrough.

This year marks the first season in a decade that Fever games are on the radio airwaves, and that’s no coincidence. Through their record-smashing attendance and viewership numbers, it can be argued the Fever have as much cachet and relevance right now as a majority of MLB or NHL franchises. That’s not to say Nolan wouldn’t have immediately accepted the same job 10 years ago, but with the Fever at the beginning of Caitlin Clark’s encore season and the WNBA as a whole riding the wave of unprecedented national attention, his seat is a highly coveted one—a fact he is not taking for granted.

“After going through the grind of minor league basketball and mid-major college athletics, this is a tremendous opportunity on a personal level,” said Nolan, who most recently had been the voice of the Tin Caps (High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres) and Mad Ants (G-League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers) up in Fort Wayne. “I’ve used the analogy of feeling like I’m jumping onto a rocket ship here with the rise of the Fever organization in truly a major league [the WNBA], so I’m really grateful to have a chance to be a tiny part of it.”

East Coast to Midwest

Middle America might have been a strange destination for the grind to begin for Nolan, a New Jersey native who graduated from the prestigious broadcast journalism program at Syracuse University. But as is common in the business, he capitalized on a connection to get his foot in the door. Mike Couzens, a fellow ’Cuse grad and current ESPN play-by-play man, served as his mentor and was the lead broadcaster for the Tin Caps when Nolan graduated in 2013. He ventured out to Indiana to join Couzens in the booth as a color commentator fresh out of college before taking over No. 1 play-by-play duties following Couzens’ departure for Bristol the next summer, kick-starting a 12-year stint in Fort Wayne.

Besides play-by-play duties, Nolan had responsibilities that varied from writing game stories to managing the team’s website and social media channels to handling all incoming media requests. Many young broadcasters don’t stick it out two seasons in the minors with that much on their plate.

Nolan joined the Mad Ants’ broadcast team in 2017. The team recently left Fort Wayne for new pastures in Hamilton County and has been renamed the Noblesville Boom for the upcoming 2025-2026 season. Nolan’s duties with them will continue with both parties’ recent relocation to the Indianapolis area.

Reps and resume building

Basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball are all in John Nolan’s repertoire, but so are lacrosse and mixed martial arts, underlining his willingness to take any chance to be behind the microphone.

“I’ve always been wired to say ‘yes,’” Nolan said. He claims that mantra stems from a sports broadcasting camp he attended in high school. There, Nolan rubbed elbows with Ian Eagle, a national broadcaster for CBS, TNT and TBS and the television voice of the Brooklyn Nets, who preached the need to take every opportunity.

“I once sat in the bleachers doing play-by-play of a central New York high school girls’ lacrosse game just to get reps and then later was given the opportunity to call the women’s lacrosse title game [as a student broadcaster at Syracuse],” remembers Nolan. “You never know. I just hoped that there would be a method to the madness.”

Besides the 2012 NCAA women’s lacrosse national championship, Nolan also had the opportunity as a student to do radio play-by-play for the Orange’s run to the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four the next spring. As a professional, he’s called hundreds of games and appeared on NBA TV, ESPNU, Marquee Sports, MSG and the Olympic Channel. But as the bullet points on his resume increased, so did his impatience.

Opportunity knocks

Being far from home understandably weighed on Nolan in recent years.

“I am 10 hours away [in Fort Wayne] from most of my closest family and friends, and it comes to a point when you’re thinking, ‘Is anyone listening or watching? Will this have a payoff?’” Nolan said. “I really tried to keep the faith that things would develop.”

Once again, a connection opened the door—this time to a career-changing opportunity.

Matthew Scott, senior director of broadcast content operations for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, had familiarity with Nolan from their time together with the Mad Ants, but it was the formal interview for the Fever radio job that officially put him ahead of the pack.

“We had a lot of fantastic candidates, but what put John above everybody else was, his fantastic storytelling ability was going to elevate our radio broadcast that much more,” said Scott, who has spent over 30 years with the Pacers organization.

“Calling the action [for radio] has become somewhat of a lost art, because everything has become more visually oriented,” Scott said. “John brings enthusiasm and energy to every broadcast. If you ever watch John during a game, he’s not sitting there stoically just calling the action. He is raising his arm to signal for a 3-pointer, pumping his fist and pointing at things as they’re happening. And that’s not just for Fever plays. He gets excited for anything that he thinks the fans will get excited about. He really paints the picture for our audience.”

The games are broadcast locally on WFNI-FM 93.5 and 107.5. Nolan is paired with former University of Kentucky standout and Indiana Miss Basketball Bria Goss, who provides game analysis.

Whether it be a spectacular pass from Clark, an Aliyah Boston putback or a Lexie Hull 3-pointer, there is sure to be plenty more fist-pumping in Nolan’s future. The everyday grind from minor league ballparks in South Bend, Davenport and Dayton has paid off with the opportunity to call major league action from sold-out arenas in Chicago, Los Angeles and Brooklyn.

Besides basketball, other opportunities in Indianapolis will come for Nolan, especially for a broadcaster so well-rounded. Like the Indiana Fever’s trajectory on the hardcourt, his rise in the booth is bound to continue.•

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From Peyton Manning’s peak with the Colts to the Pacers’ most recent roster makeover, Schultz has talked about it all as a sports personality in Indianapolis for more than 15 years. Besides his written work with IBJ, he’s active in podcasting and show hosting. You can follow him on X @Schultz975.