OU's Jessica Coody will make history on men's basketball broadcast Saturday
From Sarah Fuller in Nashville, TN, to Norman, OK, and all across the United States,women continue to shatter glass ceilings in the sports world.
While most sports fans are familiar with Vanderbilt's new kicker, most Sooner fans know Jessica Coody for her storytelling skills as she features Oklahoma athletes on various OU broadcasts. Other times, she is found on the sideline of various sports, interacting during halftime reports, quarter changes and speaking with anyone that has a role in the OU family.
Coody has also done play-by-play for OU women’s basketball.
But Saturday, she’s taking it a step further as she becomes the first woman to be on the call for an OU men’s basketball game.
Coody will be on the mic during the Fox Sports Southwest broadcast as the Sooners face Florida A&M.
“It’s hard for me to even put into words everything I’m feeling about calling this game on Saturday,” Coody told SI Sooners in an email interview. “Play-by-play is something that’s recently new to me. Over the last two
years, I’ve received more and more opportunities, and I’ve really fallen in love with it.
“I’m so grateful to Jacob Potter and Craig Moran from Sooner Vision, who got the ball rolling with the idea, and for Kenny Mossman and Joe Castiglione for signing off, and of course Mike Shepherd and Lon Kruger for also being very supportive of me having this opportunity.”
Coody is a lifelong native of Oklahoma and was a member of the Chattanooga (OK) High School basketball team.
“I love basketball, and I love Oklahoma basketball,” Coody said. “I grew up watching Sooner hoops with my dad and brother. The Coodys are lifelong Sooner fans; my dad can talk for days about Wayman Tisdale and Alvin Adams, and Billy Ball and on and on. So it’s really a dream, to be calling these games for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“And I can't tell you how many times I'm sitting there thinking this is actually my job, and there’s no better office for me than the Lloyd Noble Center.”
She will be alongside veteran college basketball analyst Bryndon Manzer.
The Sooners and Rattlers tip off Saturday at 4 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.
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