Southeastern Oklahoma State University Athletics

Dr. Edward Byrd joined the Southeastern Oklahoma State faculty in 1966 and by 1967 he had stepped to the best seat a Paul Laird Field behind the public address microphone. The next quarter century he would become the “Voice of the Savages.”
 
A native of Magee, Miss., he began his announcing duties in 1967 with football, and in 1972 took his talents to the microphone for basketball games as well.
 
He would call games for the next 27 years, with his final work in the booth being the 1994 East Central game just weeks before his passing, following a battle with cancer.
 
Dr. Byrd said in an interview with “The Southeastern,” the University’s  newspaper , he didn’t know how Director of Athletics Dr. Don Parham found out about his prior public announcing, but he did and the perfect person was put into the perfect position.
 
From that same newspaper article, Byrd explained that he was not a sportscaster. “Those are people who broadcast over the radio or television. I am a public address announcer.”
 
A history professor by profession, Byrd took knowledge from his playing days and his time as a football official to the PA table.
 
“I would just say that Dr. Byrd had his very own style of announcing the games … and that style was good, very good. His voice was unmistakable, and there was almost a theatric tone to it. That is the only word I can think of. The sound was very clean and precise,” said Mark Webb, who had the unenviable task of following Byrd at the microphone.
 
The son of a preacher, he received his bachelors and masters degrees from Baylor before earning a Ph.D. in Modern European History from Texas Tech in 1969.
 
Additionally Byrd revived golf on the Southeastern campus and coached the team to on-course success from 1967-71.
 
Dr. Byrd’s true calling was the classroom. He was an outstanding teacher and collected numerous awards and honors.  Among them Alpha Sigma Tau Professor of the Year, the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award and the prestigious Faculty Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching.
 
In 2000, he was selected as Distinguished Former Faculty at Southeastern.
 
Dr. Byrd, throughout his years of service as an educator and with the athletics program, excelled to a level that brings great honor to Southeastern Oklahoma State University.  The University honored him with membership in the Southeastern Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Fame on August 23, 2014.