Former Voice of the Mavericks Ortegel to Speak at Meet the Roadrunners Banquet

AC Athletics/Gary Stallard

For 23 years, Bob Ortegel was the voice of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, broadcasting games featuring some of the greatest players in the league's history.

On Friday, August 24, Ortegel will share some of his experiences with the crowd on-hand for Angelina College's annual "Meet the Roadrunners" banquet to kick off the athletic programs' upcoming 2018-2019 seasons.

The Roadrunner Foundation again will host this annual event with the help of local sponsors.  Each year the Foundation invites young students from Lufkin and surrounding communities to welcome the Roadrunner athletes and show their support.  The students are given tickets, distributed by the Roadrunner Foundation, that include Meet the Roadrunners and coaches, dinner with the Roadrunners and the chance to hear the guest speaker.

Ortegel served as the television analyst for Mavericks' broadcast for 23 years before spending another four years with Fox Sports Southwest, retiring in 2015. He also has worked games for ESPN and ABC, among other networks.

Before becoming a full-time analyst, Ortegel served as head coach at Drake University from 1974-1981, leading the team to its most recent NIT appearance in 1981. A graduate of Bradley University, Ortegel played basketball for the Braves. He later would serve as an assistant coach at Drake, Illinois State and Western Michigan universities.

In 2005, Ortegel appeared as an analyst in the Disney film "Glory Road", the story of the 1966 NCAA national championship team from Texas Western University.

The Roadrunner Foundation would like to thank the following sponsors for this event; Ferrara's Heating and Air Conditioning, Etech, Strata Roofing, McDonald's, Langston Construction, Inc., Moore Building Associates, Angelina Eye Center and Shrimp Boat Manny's Cajun Cuisine.

The banquet takes place at 6 p.m. on Friday at Shands Gymnasium on the Angelina College campus.

The e-mail address for AC's Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.