Wes Strader, “Voice Of The Hilltoppers” Passes Away At 79

On Tuesday night, after battling health issues for the past few weeks, Wes Strader, WKU’s former play by play announcer of 36 years passed away at age 79 in Bowling Green.

Strader was the radio voice of Hilltopper Athletics from 1964 until 2000. He called men’s basketball games during arguably the program’s peak years of the mid 60’s to early 70’s and also called Hilltopper football games during their mid 70’s high point as well. While he was before my time to hear him actually call games, he remained a vibrant figure in the Bowling Green sports scene long after retiring from Hilltopper play by play. He regularly hosted the Topper Tailgate pregame shows and stayed well connected with the program.

Strader also hosted a weekly show on 102.7 FM in Bowling Green and would discuss the local topics of the day and also help fans regularly connect today’s Hilltopper program with their historic past. For a fan that was regularly looking for someone to talk about WKU his show was a godsend. I remember him recently interviewing former NFL topper Virgil Livers and it was fascinating to hear about the program in the 70’s and how far it has come since then.

Strader was inducted in the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2014 and he also had a profound legacy in high school athletics as well, calling several KHSAA Sweet Sixteen’s over the years. Strader is the only announcer to have his name in the rafters of Diddle Arena and the annual Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic will live on for years to come. Here is Wes briefly describing what the Western Kentucky Basketball program meant to him.

As the news of Strader’s passing was released, several media and fans paid tribute to his legacy.

Rest in peace Wes and prayers to you and your family.