Member Spotlight: Jim Bachman

Jim Bachman, right, with his son Jimmy

When Total Traffic Weather & News anchor Jim Bachman was in fifth grade, he skipped school to watch the NCAA men’s basketball champ Villanova victory parade. That was 1985. Today, Jim’s own son is in fifth grade and recently went with him to the 2016 Villanova NCAA victory parade. It was extra special, because Jim is also the Villanova public address basketball announcer — a position he’s held since 2011. 

Jim, a Villanova grad, says the hardest thing about his basketball announcing job is making sure he says the opposing player’s names just right. The last thing he wants to do is “mess up a name,” so he heads to the court early to confer with the opposing teams officials to nail the pronunciation. When Jim announces each player as they are running onto the court at the start of the game, he says there is a special cadence for each name, and it takes a while to perfect that rhythm. He tweaks his delivery, sometimes for months, before he is happy with the final product — and he practices and hones that name out loud while he drives!

For those interested in sports announcing, Jim suggests following his own path. He volunteered in the university’s sports office and eventually got tapped to do the in-house and then PA announcing for various Villanova teams before landing the men’s basketball duties. Jim is devoted to Villanova, but just a few short hours after the big victory over North Carolina, Jim was here at Total Traffic Weather & News in the anchor chair, providing traffic and news to our affiliates without missing a beat! 

Congratulations Wildcats and Jim Bachman!