STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific Athletics has renewed its long-standing agreement with iHeart Media to broadcast the 2023-24 men's basketball games on Fox Sports AM 1280 in Stockton. In addition to the games airing on the radio locally, fans can tune in anywhere via the iHeart Radio app.
 
Zack Bayrouty, who has served as the primary play-by-play voice of the Tigers since 2010, will call the road games on the radio for the Tigers. Bayrouty, who is also the voice of the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A, San Francisco Giants), is a veteran baseball announcer and had previously spent 14 seasons with the Stockton Ports and three years with the Reno Aces. With the West Coast Conference's new ESPN+ agreement, Bayrouty will shift to the TV platform for home games. 
 
"We are excited to hear another exciting season of Tigers basketball with action called by the best basketball play-by-play announcer in Northern California on Fox Sports Radio 1280," said Steve Darnell, iHeart Media Pacific Region Area President. 
 
On ESPN+, Bayrouty will again team with legendary Pacific head coach Bob Thomason. A 1972 Pacific graduate, Thomason was a key player on the team that earned a spot in the 1971 NCAA Tournament. He coached the Tigers for 25 seasons (1988-2013) including five NCAA Tournament Teams (1997, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2013) and garnered Big West Coach of the Year honors five times. 
 
"Calling Pacific men's basketball games has been such a big part of my life, and I'm thrilled to continue to do it while partnering with two amazing brands in iHeart Radio and ESPN," said Bayrouty. "While I have a tremendous passion for radio play-by-play, I'm also excited to work with Coach Thomason on the television side at the Spanos Center on a platform that will allow basketball fans across the country to truly appreciate his X's and O's acumen."
 
When Bayrouty moves to ESPN+ for Pacific home games, Dennis Ackerman, a veteran broadcaster who has handled play-by-play duties for Pacific soccer and baseball for the past three seasons, will move into the radio play-by-play seat. 
 
"We are excited to continue our partnership with Fox Sports AM 1280 in Stockton," said Director of Athletics Adam Tschuor. "Our staff and I look forward to collaborating with them to ensure that the important medium of radio continues to tell the story of the Pacific men's basketball program. 
 
"Zack and Dennis are amazing play-by-play announcers so I know they will deliver a dynamic listening experience," Tschuor added. "When Coach Thomason joins the broadcast, the audience will benefit from his tremendous basketball knowledge."
 
The first broadcast on Fox Sports AM 1280/iHeart Radio will be on Nov. 10 at California. Several of the non-conference games, including the season opener on Nov. 6 versus Sam Houston State, are contractually preempted by NFL contests. The audio broadcasts of those games will still be available online at pacifictigers.com.