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Inside The Huskies

Word On The Street: Elise Woodward Is New Voice Of Huskies

The former UW basketball player will replace Tony Castricone as the football play-by-play announcer.
Dan Raley|
Elise Woodward is the new UW play-by-play radio broadcaster.
Elise Woodward is the new UW play-by-play radio broadcaster. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

With Tony Castricone leaving at mid-summer to take an NFL job, people wondered how the University of Washington would find a football play-by-play announcer so late in the process, with the season opener bearing down on everyone.

The school simply turned to the sidelines and promoted Elise Woodward.

On Tuesday, with Big Ten Media Days underway, the UW announced Woodward -- who had worked at ground level for 23 years as a sideline reporter -- would take over a job previously handled by the likes of the late Keith Jackson, the iconic Bob Rondeau and others local personalities such Pete Gross, Rod Belcher and Bill Schonely.

"Having the opportunity to be the voice of University of Washington football is the honor of my lifetime," Woodward said.

Woodward, 50, is an interesting choice to say the least because she's a native of Eugene, Oregon, not a favorite city for her fan base; a former UW basketball player and, of course, the first woman to handle this role.

Yet it seemed pre-ordained going back to the time the Huskies first brought her on campus and she met a football coaching legend.

"When I was on my recruiting trip to UW as a senior in high school, I had the chance to meet Don James in his office," Woodward said. "He told me, 'I hope you become a Husky.' I couldn't believe he took the time to say hi. Now decades later, it is a full circle moment to get this opportunity to call UW football."

She replaces Castricone, who left for a similar position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was the voice of the Huskies from 2017 through this past season. He had replaced Rondeau, who retired after 37 years in the booth.

Woodward worked with each of them offering sideline, halftime and postgame reports, working in all kinds of weather conditions.

"She has established herself as a trusted voice within the Husky community through her years covering UW football, women's fasketball, and Seattle sports," UW athletic director Pat Chun said in a release. "She knows this university, its traditions, and the rich history of this role."

Besides UW sports, Woodward had greatly expanded her broadcasting work to include the WNBA's Portland Fire, ESPN's women's NCAA Tournament coverage, the Seattle Storm and the Seattle Sonics a KJR radio sports talk show, and continuous coverage for the Pac-12 and Big Ten networks.

She first connected with the school by becoming a scholarship basketball player in 1993-97, helping lead the Huskies to three NCAA Tournament appearances and captaining the team as a senior.

Woodward will make her Husky play-by-play debut during the UW-Washington State game in the Apple Cup at Husky Stadium on Sunday, September 5.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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