Farm fields to Final Four: Rob Blackman’s broadcasting journey

Making the most of the moment is what it’s all about for Rob Blackman, the voice of Purdue men’s basketball.

Choosing words succinctly and wisely is an art form. That’s how one becomes 2025 Indiana Sportscaster of the Year, an honor Blackman earned in late January.

When Fletcher Loyer dribbled across halfcourt and lofted the basketball skyward as time ran out at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on March 31, 2024 — sealing Purdue’s win over Tennessee and a trip to the Final Four — Blackman, after calling the play, paused to humbly pay tribute to former broadcast partner Larry Clisby, who had passed away three years earlier.

“The first thing that came out of his mouth was Cliz,” says Purdue coach Matt Painter, who later heard Blackman’s broadcast. “That says a lot about Rob, that he would take that moment to pay respect to Larry. He also paid tribute to several others around our program, like (longtime supporter) John Nine, and that meant a lot.”

Blackman gets treated like family around the men’s basketball program because he is family. He started his basketball work with the Boilermakers the year Painter became head coach, 21 seasons ago.

“He’s one of us, and he’s done a great job; he’s like another staff member,” Painter says. “You kind of make your bones by how you feel when we lose. That sounds crazy, but if you hurt when we lose, you’re one of us.

“He has worked really hard to be in this position and to be loyal to Purdue, and it’s just a great fit. We are very fortunate because we had a great fit with Cliz, and having someone like Rob is very, very similar. It’s unique. I think that’s what makes Purdue special — having guys like Rob in your corner.”

For 15 years, Blackman sat to the right of Clisby, the legend of Purdue men’s basketball radio, but when Clisby was saddled with cancer, the bittersweet reality stared Blackman in the face. Were the circumstances surrounding the eventual change of the guard as imagined? Of course not; however, the choice to fill the role was never in doubt.

“You have to earn your stripes and wait your turn,” says Blackman, who stepped into his role after Clisby retired due to illness. Those stripes he referred to were earned, and in plenty. To receive them, one had to excel at the job, and Blackman’s upbringing and prior professional opportunities prepared him well.

And the result? Carving his own successful footprint in the Purdue Athletics community.

“I have been so lucky to have so many great mentors, great people that came before and supported me,” Blackman says.

That started at his boyhood home. He grew up on a farm in northern White County, five miles north of Monticello, Indiana, as a Purdue fan. “It is clear that Rob got his work ethic from his upbringing,” says his wife of nearly 28 years, Stephanie. “I hit the in-laws lottery when it comes to great families, and the Blackman family clearly knows the value of hard work and effort.”

Stephanie also tells a story passed down about her husband’s childhood aspiration to become a broadcaster.

“They have very grainy videos — videos nonetheless — of him recreating basketball games after coming home from a high school game on a Friday,” Stephanie says. “He would recreate the game, announce it and pretend like he was the players at the same time.”

Priceless stuff.

Honing skills

The first in his family to attend college, Blackman played wide receiver at the University of Evansville, graduating in 1993, four years before the Purple Aces dropped their program.

While on the Evansville campus, Blackman garnered experience at the campus radio station and got a lucky break when a sports-minded station manager, Len Clark, paved the way for more experience.

Clark, also from northern Indiana, appreciated Blackman’s enthusiasm for the craft and his ability to manage time as a student-athlete and broadcaster.

“From his farming background, he knows what hard work looks like,” Clark says. “I don’t like the term ‘paying your dues,’ but he has carved his own path to get where he wants to be.”

After his days in the Pocket City, Blackman was hired at WRBT in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, just an hour or so up the Ohio and Wabash rivers from his college home. He even found time to coach the freshman football and basketball teams at Mt. Carmel High School from 1994-98.

But radio was his day job — and his passion, and it showed.

“Rob always treated broadcasting as community service,” says Scott Allen, who was Blackman’s boss at WRBT. “He understands the importance of bringing local moments to people who rely on radio, and he hasn’t changed that even after spending time at Purdue.”

Rick Johnston, the Mt. Carmel basketball coach for the coincidentally named Golden Aces, could tell early on that Blackman would someday outgrow the town despite being a perfect fit for the community of about 8,000 residents.

“Rob was way ahead of his time,” Johnston says. “He did things for our program that others weren’t doing, especially in a high school setting: weekly shows, coaches’ shows. It was a great thing for our program, and Rob was the impetus behind it all.”

Johnston, who had coached basketball in Indiana, had Lafayette-area ties and was a Purdue fan, encouraged Blackman to aim high at an early age. When he asked Blackman where he was headed in his career, the broadcaster’s answer was straightforward.

“Without flinching, he said, ‘I’ll be working on the Purdue network broadcasting team,’” Johnston says. Blackman wasn’t bragging; he just had that wonderful attribute: a clear vision of where he was headed and wanted to be.

Blackman began working with the Purdue radio network on the football postgame call-in show in 2004 and worked his way to the studio-host position he now holds, alongside Tim Newton and Mark Herrmann. He has also broadcast Boilermaker baseball for nearly a decade (sharing duties with Kyle Charters) and is the host of the fledgling “For Pete’s Sake” podcast with comedian Joey Mulinaro.

No substitute for preparation

Blackman’s versatility has also expanded to auto racing, working on the Indy 500 radio network. It was a sport he knew only from a fan’s perspective, but it played a role in him getting the opportunity. Blackman’s tireless preparation impressed the voice of the 500, Mark Jaynes, when Jaynes was looking for another pit reporter.

“He came to the interview with seven pages of notes and admitted he didn’t know much about auto racing,” says Jaynes, who has spent 30 years as the lead on the Indy 500 radio broadcast team. “My response was simple: ‘You’re hired.’ He could probably make a game of tic-tac-toe sound exciting, but the thing is it is so genuine. What I’ve also grown to respect about him as a co-worker and a friend is that Rob doesn’t use ‘I’ and ‘me’ much. Rob uses ‘we.’ That connects him with the audience.”

Blackman’s sidekick on the Purdue basketball broadcasts, Bobby Riddell, is impressed with his partner’s diligence.

“He does a tremendous job of preparation,” says Riddell, who has been the color analyst since the 2020–21 season. “He has a laundry list of things he puts together for every game: rosters, talking points, matchups. It makes it easy for me because I feel we are always ready.”

Not leaving much to chance while still sounding authentic is a key attribute. Also, just having fun with the broadcast and realizing you are living the dream serves Blackman well.

“There are few people who get to do a job they have dreamed of doing,” Blackman says. “I am humbled by the Broadcaster of the Year Award, as so many people had so much to do with it.”

Don Fischer, the voice of Indiana for 53 years, delivers the ultimate “it takes one to know one” comment. Fischer, who has won the Indiana Sportscaster of the Year Award 28 times, is effusive in his praise of his “rival” colleague. “Rob is a terrific broadcaster, very much a pro, very professional, and does a great job on the air,” Fischer says. “He is one of those people, not just on the air but off the air, that you could really relate to, because he’s just a great person.”

Written by Alan Karpick, publisher of GoldandBlack.com since 1996.