Saturday eight individuals who have worked in sports media and distinguished themselves through service to Arkansas State University athletics were inducted into the Press Box Wall of Honor. 

The list of honored individuals included Charles Cromwell, Keith Merrit, Collin Pillow, Charles Rasberry and Jerry Schaeffer. Gina Bowman, Dick Clay and Bill Keedy were also honored posthumously as members of their families accepted the award on their behalf. 

The honorees represent 170 years of service either on the university’s staff or covering A-State athletics. In some way, they have all helped shape Arkansas State media for the better.

Charles Cromwell, a Pine Bluff native, graduated from A-State in 1974 where he earned a degree in, what was previously known as, radio and television.

 During the ‘70s, Cromwell did play-by-play and color analysis at KASU. After he graduated, he was the news director at KASU for a year before he went on to be the sports editor and columnist at the Jonesboro Sun from 1977 to 1993. 

Cromwell, along with fellow inductee Dick Clay, were both recently inducted into the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. 

Keith Merritt from Jonesboro was the “Voice of the Indians” from 1983-1991. He was the play-by-play broadcaster for both the men and women’s basketball teams during his time with A-State and received many awards for his broadcasting talent. 

Collin Pillow from Piggott, Arkansas, worked in the School of Media and Journalism at A-State from 1998 until he retired in 2021. He served as sports producer for ASU-TV’s coverage of Red Wolves football and basketball from 2001-2019. 

Pillow helped create professional learning opportunities in video production, as well as help many A-State students start their careers in broadcast. 

Charles Rasberry of Jonesboro worked in the journalism department at A-State starting in 1961. He founded the Indian Sports Network in 1961 and is the honored director of broadcasting for KASU and ASU-TV. 

Jerry Schaeffer is an A-State 1968 journalism graduate and went on to receive his master’s in mass communication in 1982. Schaeffer worked as the Arkansas State sports information director for 20 years after starting in 1974 and was the assistant athletic director for 18 of those years. 

In addition to those two directing jobs, Schaeffer was also the color analyst for football and basketball, managing media relations for athletics highlights, negotiations and management. 

Gina Bowman worked for 46 years and 32 of those were with A-State in the athletics department. Like Schaeffer, she also worked in the sports information department as assistant director, assistant athletics director for media relations and senior woman administrator for athletics. In the early 2000s, she was the Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations before becoming assistant director of the Sports Information Office. 

Bowman made history by being the only female sports information director in NCAA Division 1-A athletics when she was appointed director. 

There is a scholarship fund named after Schaeffer and Bowman for students in sports information. The scholarship, as of the event, has raised roughly $7,000 out of their $25,000 goal. 

The late Dick Clay graduated from A-State with a master’s degree in physical education before he served as the first director of the Arkansas Special Olympics in the ‘70s. Clay served as sports director at KAIT-TV from 1970-1998. His son, Jason, was present to speak on his father’s behalf at the ceremony. 

William “Bill” Keedy started as a coach but after retirement, he became the color analyst, working alongside Steve Sullivan and Matt Stolz until he died. The radio booth in the press box, “Coach Bill Keedy Radio Booth,” is named in his honor. 

Cromwell tells students wanting to pursue journalism or any other career within the School of Media and Journalism to work, learn, take opportunities and find your style.

“Do your work, learn all you can. Take opportunities to talk to people in the business when you have a chance to. Just work at it and find the publication or source that you really respect and study how they do it.”

More information on the Wall of Honor inductees can be found on the A-State Athletics website.

Categories: News