There are multiple names people think of when talking about Bridgeport football. Considering the amount of winning that’s taken place for the last half a century, that’s to be understood.

 

Most of the names are former players and coaches. There is one name that rises above the rest, however, when it is not someone who manned the sideline in either a playing or coaching capacity.

 

That person would be Travis Jones.

 

Since Sept. 3, 1993, Jones has called nearly every single Bridgeport High School football game. After roughly three decades, he has certainly earned the moniker the “Voice of the Indians” and based on everything I know, he has earned the trust of those that follow his calls on air for football games, as well as plenty of basketball games and an occasional baseball game in the past.

 

Because of that, there were some mixed feelings recently when a MetroNews article appeared on Jones back on March 16. The article announced that he had been promoted to Vice President of Content for WVRC (West Virginia Radio Corporation) Media.

 

A new position for Jones. And certainly, if a new position merited coverage by MetroNews, for those who do not understand what a promotion usually means, it means additional job responsibilities.

 

That led to several inquiries to Connect-Bridgeport about the future of Jones. In particular was one question of interest:

 

“Will Travis still be doing football games?”

 

For those who are still wondering, or who may not know of his new gig until reading this and wondering the same, Jones had the answer.

 

“That was the first part of agreeing to that job is that I wouldn’t give anything up. Nothing changes from that, just my job responsibilities change,” said Jones. “I’ll be handling my duties with Bridgeport football and basketball for the foreseeable future.”

 

Other things will change. Jones will no longer be working in Harrison County. Instead, he will be doing his job from the Dale Miller Building on Spruce Street in Morgantown, a stone’s throw from the offices of Hoppy Kercheval and Tony Caridi.

 

What he will be doing is very much going to be the same, but on a much larger scale. Prior to accepting the promotion, he served as operations manager with the Clarksburg division of WVRC that encompassed four radio stations Now, he’ll be over all WVRC stations, all 36 of them under the umbrella, making sure the content is where it needs to be, and operations are going smoothly.

 

Jones will also oversee new ventures the company may take on. He said podcasts will be one area, and not just in house podcasts. He said WVRC may look to harvest some already in existence and provide them a platform to advance their popularity and reach in West Virginia and beyond.

 

Needless to say, podcasts were not on the table when he started.  He has come a long way from when he started working in Harrison County with WVRC back in 1993. His role then was as the program director for WKKW at an office on Second Street in Clarksburg.

 

Since then, he’s been behind the mic of nearly every big moment for the BHS football program – including five state championship runs. Since then, he’s moved to Harrison County and eventually settled in Bridgeport. Since then, he’s raised a family. Since then, he’s done broadcasts for ESPN and SiriusXM. Since then, he was a short-time public address announcer for West Virginia University football, and a long-time radio voice for the WVU women’s team. Since then, he is currently the voice of the Fairmont State athletic program as well as calling state championships via radio and on-the-air for MetroNews.

 

Not bad for the Parkersburg Catholic graduate who somehow, someway, finds enough hours in the day to not only do his job and do it to perfection, but keeps climbing the ladder in the corporate world in which he calls his professional home. And still time find to be a husband to wife Kristi and father to son Cameron.

 

Through it all, Jones is happy to not only have his duties with Bridgeport High School but have a job that allows him to advance and prosper.

 

“I am truly honored to be asked to transition into this new role in one of the country’s best media companies.” Jones said. “WVRC Media has a proven commitment to great local content and community involvement, and I look forward to helping continue that in the future.”

 

We look forward to you continuing your time with the Indians. I feel pretty safe in saying I am not alone in that assessment.