Northwest Notes Aug. 20, 2024

Patchin returns as Voice of the Vandals

MOSCOW — Dennis Patchin, who was the Voice of Vandal football from 2015-2019, is returning to the microphone as the play-by-play man for Idaho football and men's basketball, Idaho Vandal Sports Properties and Idaho Athletics announced Monday.

Patchin, an Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Famer who is retiring from SWX/KHQ later this month, replaces Chris King, who will take over as the new play-by-play broadcaster for Washington State, his alma mater.

"I'm excited to be returning to broadcast the Idaho football games and looking forward to calling basketball, too," Patchin said in a university news release. "I think Jason Eck and Alex Pribble are tremendous coaches who have positive momentum in their programs, and I can't wait to share the game stories with Vandals fans."

Patchin has over four decades of experience in Spokane working in TV and radio. He hosted a radio show "Patchin and Lukens" for more than two decades and worked at KXLY before becoming the sports director at SWX/KHQ in 2020.

During his time at SWX, he was on the call for several Vandal football and hoops games for SWX linear broadcasts. 

During his career, which included a lengthy run at KXLY, he has called countless games from high school to professional sports and every university in the Inland Northwest.

"We are extremely fortunate to have such a smooth transition from Chris King to Dennis Patchin's return as 'Voice of the Vandals,'" Vandal Sports Properties General Manager Tom Morris said. "Dennis has great relationships with our coaches, administration, and will again bring his many years of broadcasting experience to the radio booth for our fans to enjoy."

Along with his game-calling responsibilities, Patchin will also host the weekly coaches shows and take over as the host of the Vandal Insider Podcast. Former Vandal tight end Trent Cowan returns to the booth as an analyst for Idaho football.

Patchin announced his retirement from SWX this summer and his final broadcast is scheduled for Aug. 29, two days before he calls Idaho's season opener at Oregon.  

"I’m still retiring from the day to day stuff on TV and radio but doing games isn’t work, it’s all fun," Patchin said on X (formerly Twitter). "It’s the perfect 'retirement' for me and I can’t wait."