Ari Wolfe

Ari Wolfe (born 1971) is a play-by-play announcer of college and professional sports on both television and radio.

Early life and career

As a student at USC, Wolfe did both play-by-play and color commentary for the Trojans' basketball, football, and baseball teams on KSCR (104.7 FM) in Los Angeles.

Born in Philadelphia and raised there and in Madison, Wisconsin, and now living in Los Angeles, Wolfe graduated from Emory University in 1994. Off the field, Wolfe has worked as a long-time mentor with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and takes pride in his culinary skills. During a Soul Live broadcast on Sports Radio 950 AM in Philadelphia a prank caller had asked him if he was a fan of Howard Stern. This was the same caller who asked him earlier in the season if Arena Football was fixed.

Broadcasting career

Since graduating from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and obtaining a Masters Degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1997, Wolfe has utilized his versatile game-calling skills in both college and pro sports. In 2005, Wolfe won his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Play-by-Play for his composite work on University of Louisville football and basketball broadcasts.

Wolfe is currently working for the NFL Network. He does various roles for the network; including news updates, reporting and play-by-play announcing. Wolfe is entering his fifth season as the TV play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Vikings preseason games. He also handled Philadelphia Eagles preseason broadcasts on the Eagles Television Network in 2005. From 2003-2006 he worked as an NFL sideline reporter on Sports USA Radio. From 2002-07, he was a play-by-play announcer for NFL Europe games on Fox Sports and the NFL Network.

Since the fall of 2009, Wolfe has broadcast college football and college basketball games for the Mtn..

Wolfe has worked for Universal Sports since 2009. He has done play-by-play for the 2009 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, called the 2009 and 2010 World Table Tennis Championships and three seasons of World Cup Rowing, including the World Championships.

In 2008, Wolfe debuted as a play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s coverage of Big East Conference basketball. In a partnership with WHAS-TV in Louisville, KY and the University of Louisville Athletic Department, Wolfe has been the TV play-by-play announcer for the University of Louisville Football and Basketball teams since 2005.

He was also the host of both coaches shows, Courtside with Rick Pitino and Kickoff with Coach K. He also served as a play-by-play announcer for national broadcasts of NCAA football games on the Sports USA Radio Network.

In 2011, Wolfe started his 13th year as a play-by-play announcer in the Arena Football League. He did regional broadcasts of AFL games on Comcast. During 2006, he was the play-by-play announcer for the National Cable Game of the Week on OLN. He has been the TV/Radio voice of the Philadelphia Soul since their first game in 2004.