Broadcast journalist Scott Wykoff ’85 traces the start of his 30-year career to his first day on campus.
“I think the first thing I did after my parents dropped me off was to find out how I could get on the air at WRUC,” said Wykoff. “I grew up with a passion for radio and it was so cool that my college had a station where I could walk in as a first-year.”
A few weeks later, he was part of the play-by-play team for Union hockey, a good start for a career that would include a stint as an announcer in the American Hockey League. Next, it was on to writing for Concordiensis, and by his junior year he had a sports column.
Today, he is an award-winning reporter for WBAL Radio in Baltimore. During his time at Baltimore’s top station, he has covered stories including Democratic and Republican national conventions, Hurricane Katrina, the D.C. sniper shootings, the Hall of Fame inductions of Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray, and the Baltimore Ravens at Super Bowl XLVII. He specializes in thoroughbred horse racing, covering the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, among others.
He also blogs for wbal.com, an experience that reminds him of his days with Concordy. “Who knew that I was writing a blog at Union College even before blogs existed?”
The National Headliner Awards, which recognize journalistic merit, recently cited Wykoff for “Best in Show” for a radio piece on the Maryland Million Day horse race. It was the sixth such award of his career. He also has won four Edward R. Murrow Awards. He was WBAL’s featured reporter in 2006 when it received the Eclipse Award from American thoroughbred racing.
But it all started at Union.
“I can’t tell you how many people I met on campus and developed long term relationships with because of my association with WRUC and Concordy,” he said. “That’s the beauty of the Union College experience. It’s the kind of place where you are truly encouraged to do anything you want. It sounds like a cliché, but the sky is the limit at Union.”
Scott lives in Olney, Maryland, with his wife Wendy; and sons Christopher, a student at Clemson University; and William, a first-year student at Union.