The PBA and ESPN have announced that veteran play-by-play announcer, Dave LaMont, will join PBA's broadcast team at the start of the new ESPN-PBA telecast season, replacing Mike Jakubowski.
That new broadcast season begins with the live finals of the PBA World Championship during the GEICO World Series of Bowling VIII in Reno, Nev., on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. Eastern.
LaMont joins PBA Hall of Famer and 13-time PBA Tour winner, Randy Pedersen, who returns for his 16th season as color analyst, and former Miss USA, Kimberly Pressler, who returns in her role as sideline reporter, to complete ESPN’s PBA broadcast team.
“I regularly went to PBA Tour tournaments when they came to South Florida, and as a long-time bowling fan, it’s a dream come true,” LaMont said of his new role. “Since I’ve been announcing bowling, I’ve really gained a deeper appreciation for what the players do, and quickly found that the sport has all the ingredients for great television. It has athletes who have a passion for what they do and who can perform under intense pressure, all in an environment where you never know what’s going to happen.”
The South Florida resident has extensive experience in bowling, with stints as USBC Queens, Women’s U.S. Open and Intercollegiate Championships play-by-play announcer since 2010.
“We are very happy that the PBA is bringing Dave LaMont on board to do play-by-play for the upcoming season on ESPN,” said Rich Williams, Senior Producer for ESPN’s Packaged Show Unit. “Dave is a very talented and experienced pro, and he has always expressed his appreciation of the PBA and the sport of bowling.”
LaMont joined ESPN and ABC in 2004 as play-by-play announcer for college football and basketball, including bowl games and basketball conference championship games. He also has called basketball games for the SEC Network, and was a substitute play-by-play announcer for the Miami Heat and Baltimore Orioles for several seasons.
For the last three seasons, LaMont has called Major League Lacrosse. Among his other assignments in 2016, he called the Texas Relays track and field meet and the 2016 Invictus Games for ESPN.
The former radio voice for Miami Hurricanes’ football, basketball and baseball teams has spent more than 30 years in the South Florida market as a radio talk show host and reporter, and currently is a member of the highly-rated “Paul and Young Ron Radio Show” broadcast team.
Jakubowski resigned to accept a new job as Director of Game Operations for the Wisconsin Center District.
That District owns and operates the Wisconsin Center, The Milwaukee Theatre and the UWM Panther Arena. Jakubowski now directs game operations for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers, the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey Association, and the Milwaukee Wave of the Major Arena Soccer League in the UWM Panther Arena.
When Jakubowski joined the PBA, his role was multi-faceted, from overseeing social media to contributing to the fan experience at live events. In recent years, those tasks were reassigned so Jakubowski could devote his full attention to Xtra Frame live streaming assignments and ESPN play-by-play.
