Local radio sportscaster to be honored at Gold Key Dinner
WILLIMANTIC — A radio broadcaster from WILI will be honored as an award recipient at the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance at the 83rd Gold Key dinner in October at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.
Wayne Norman, a radio broadcaster with WILI since 1970, will receive the Bob Barton Excellence in Media Award.
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'One thing that makes this honor special is that it's given by my colleagues in sports media,' Norman said. 'It tells me they appreciate what I do. This is the payoff for hard work. I take pride in my intense preparation for game broadcasts.'
Norman's first sportscasting experience was in 1968, when he worked at WADS in Ansonia, broadcasting high school football games with broadcast legend Brad Harris. He covered Ansonia, Derby, Shelton and Seymour football games.
'Early in my WILI days, I did Windham High School football and boys basketball, and other selected local high schools and American Legion State Tournaments,' Norman said. 'I began doing play by play of Eastern Connecticut State baseball in 1973.'
Norman has broadcast over 250 ECSC/ECSU postseason tournament games, including Eastern's first four NCAA championships. He also did some ECSC men's and women's postseason basketball games on WILI.
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On WILI, he broadcasts some UConn baseball games.
'My first UConn broadcast was UConn football at Navy in 1979, and I became the full-time color analyst on the UConn network in September of 1981,' Norman said. 'I have been on the mic for all six UConn basketball national championships and one UConn women's national championship. I do occasional women's games, when needed.'
In addition to college spots, he does daily sports reports on his WILI morning show, which is one of the longest-running morning shows in Connecticut radio history. He focuses on local teams.
As a Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame member, Norman was named the Connecticut Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association in 2020.
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In 1985, he was given the Distinguished Service Award by the New England Collegiate Baseball Coaches Association.
Norman received the Monahan and Wallace Media Award from the Eastern Athletic Communications Association in 2023, which was bestowed upon an individual or organization in either print or electronic media for 'outstanding coverage of eastern intercollegiate athletics.'
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