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Brian Hanni (center, gray shirt) speaks with professional boxer Victor Ortiz in 2011. Hanni was recently chosen to replace Bob Davis as the new voice of the Jayhawks.
Brian Hanni lands his dream job: being the voice of the Jayhawks
▶ DYLAN SHERWOOD
@dsherwoodku
Bob Davis has left quite the mark on KU basketball. The legendary broadcaster called games for 32 years before retiring in early 2016. Now it is up to Brian Hanni, who was announced as Davis' successor on Tuesday, to be the "Voice of the Jayhawks".
Hanni returns to Lawrence after a four-year stint at Texas Tech University as the voice of men's basketball and baseball. Before that, he was broadcaster for the Jayhawk IMG Sports Network and host of "Rock Chalk Sports Talk" on 1320 KLWN AM.
"This is the opportunity of a lifetime. It's the fulfillment of pretty close to a lifelong dream and I'm
just ecstatic to be coming home," Hanni said. "The job itself is incredible and yet, feeling the warmth of friends and family back home these past few days since the announcement, I'm probably feeling the most blessed over that."
Despite being away from Lawrence, Hanni stayed connected to the
Hanni stood out as one of the top finalists to replace Davis because of his involvement in the community, said KU Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger.
"Naming a replacement for an institution like [Bob] Davis was a very difficult proposition," Zenger said in the release. "We view this position as not only a radio voice, but as an ambassador for Kansas Athletics and our university."
community. Every summer, he put on the "Rock Chalk Roundball Classic," a charity event that benefits local children.
Hanni said that he hoped staying connected might one day help take him back home. He said that was the plan when he left Lawrence in 2012 and moved to Lubbock.
"I really felt I had to leave and get my own major conference job somewhere if I wanted to be in the best position to one day return home once Bob [Davis] retired," Hanni said. "But when you leave you run the risk of being both out-of-sight and out-of-mind. It was my goal, even though I was out-of-sight, to still stay in the mind of Jay-
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