In November 2015, Darius Thigpen, 24, was hired by Longwood University to be the assistant director of athletics communications for new media. Then November 2016, he was named the official voice of the Lancers.
Thigpen’s broadcast journey began at Ohio State University, doing color commentary his first two years for the student radio station, the Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio. During his junior year, he became the vice president of the radio station and advanced to the play-by-play position. By his senior year, he was the president for the Scarlet and Gray radio station and commentated every sport on air.
“Play-by-play is something that I got interested in, at college. I didn’t grow up knowing what I wanted to do, other than being the next Ken Griffey Jr. and Kobe Bryant,”said Thigpen.
Upon graduating from Ohio State University in 2014, Thigpen transitioned into minor league baseball. He served as the studio host of the pre-game and post-game shows, assisting the radio crew with their in-game broadcasts and writing game recaps throughout the season.
“I started in the International League, Triple-A baseball, for the Columbus Clippers and worked there for a year. Then they told me about a job at IMG because one of the guys I worked for, Scott Leo, he knew a guy at IMG and gave me a part time job,” said Thigpen, describing his path to Longwood. “I was there for a year, but I wanted to get back into minor league baseball so I went to Leihigh Valley IronPigs. After working there for a year one of my bosses, Jon Schaeffer, who was the voice of Lancers basketball, was leaving for Leigh High Valley. He went on to hired Scott Bacon, who then hired me.”
Thigpen was hired to do the play-by-play for the Big South Network broadcasts at first. Now, he broadcasts for the WVHL Kickin' Country 92.9 FM station, as well.
In reference to Darius being hired by Longwood, his father Kevin Thigpen said, “I was extremely excited, and I think the reason I was the most excited was because he had been working a lot of part-time jobs. So when the Longwood opportunity arose, being that it was a full-time position at an established university, I thought it was absolutely outstanding and I was extremely excited for him.”
According to his family and co-workers, Darius is more than just the voice behind Longwood athletics, he is someone who has a great personality.
“He is first and foremost very passionate about sports, and always has been. When he was a kid, he would wake up in the morning and watch ESPN,” said Kevin. “He also has a great sense of humor that many people may not get to see. And he is very disciplined and focused, especially when he was growing up and how he approached his schooling.”
While Darius is most known for his work ethic and solid character, there is an aspect of his life usually sidelined.
Darius was born with a defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Tetralogy of Fallot is a condition when there isn’t enough blood getting to the lungs to be oxygenated, leading to oxygen-poor blood flowing through the body.
Kevin said, “He has had four open heart surgeries in his life, the most recent being when he was a senior at Ohio State.”
This is a part of Darius’ life that he mostly keeps to himself. Assistant Vice President of Athletics Communication Chris Cook noted he knew Darius had a heart defect but had never heard him speak about it.
Cook said, “I never hesitate to give him any task, whether it’s something I know he can do or it’s something that he’s never done before. Because if he doesn’t know how to do it, he’ll figure out how to do it.”
In a way, Darius’ heart defect exemplifies how he refuses to settle or give up on his dreams. He downplayed its significance, saying “It’s nothing I really have to think about. I have to take a tablet every day, and I get a yearly checkup just to make sure everything is going as normal. I’ve had two open heart surgeries in the last 10 years and will probably have to have another at one some point in time. But, hopefully not for another 10 to 15 years from now.”
Darius proudly added, “I can still go hard, just not quite as hard.”
Looking at his future, Darius’ father believes his son can be just as successful as any other broadcaster. “In terms of his potential, I think he could be on ESPN one day. I think that based on his knowledge, his ability, and how he can adapt to so many different sports and make it seem so natural,” said Kevin.
Darius said, “I had no clue that I would be here three to five years ago. Because when I graduated from college I didn’t have a job, I just had an internship in place. And all I knew was that the internship was going to be over at the end of the season. Since then, I’ve moved three different times in the past three years before coming to Longwood. So to say where I’ll be in the next three to five years, I can’t predict it.”
You can listen to Darius on 92.9 FM this Tuesday, April 18, as Longwood’s baseball team travels to the University of Virginia. Then tune in again on Friday, April 21, when Longwood baseball hosts Winthrop University.
“He is completely selfless, motivated, always positive, and very efficient. And his preparation into broadcasts and games, they’re probably a little overboard but that’s just how he works,” said Cook. “He is someone who you see working hard and it makes everyone else want to work just as hard. It’s even hard for me to keep up with him.”
