While Jeff Woolson’s voice was treasured among the Red Sea, his time at Biola had to come to an end. During his time in the play-by-play role, Woolson had friends and families across the country and even beyond, excited to listen in on Biola’s sports. Hearing another voice join him got the audience used to current senior journalism major Aaron Rollins’ voice.

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Hailing from Napa, California, Rollins grew up loving sports. He played baseball from the age of five up until he was fifteen, frequently watching the sport and sometimes with his older brother. Inspired by his former roommate, Jack Pierson, who was involved with Biola Athletics as a videographer, Rollins purchased his own camera to officially start photographing for athletics in Feb. 2022.

Slowly stepping into play-by-play on some games alongside Woolson, Rollins started to get more involved with his voice instead of through a lens.

”Working for athletics has given me a unique perspective on more of who the players are,” Rollins said.

Rollins has been able to see the support of Biola Athletics through both photography and play-by-play. He gives credit to the athletics department and the staff, specifically Ethan McGarvey, Billi Derleth, Neil Morgan and Eddie Shepherd.

“I think they all make work really fun and they’ve encouraged my growth within my desire to work in sports and relationships with the people,” Rollins said.

RELATIONSHIPS AND WORK EXPERIENCE

Being peers and classmates with the athletes offers a level of intentionality.

“We go to school with them, so it’s really cool to see them succeeding in something that they’re passionate about, really good at and they’ve spent a lot of their life doing,” Rollins said.

Part of his passion is calling games with people he cares about and shares a campus with. Understanding the work that goes into their game makes calling it that much more fruitful. He gets to voice the fruits of their labor come to pass on the court or on the field. Being the voice behind their play allows Rollins to gain experience of his own.

“I talked about it with my dad all the time,” Rollins said. “I was like, ‘Dad, I want to do that. I want to be like Joe Buck, but I don’t want to be hated like Joe Buck. I want to be like Joe Davis.’”

He notes other well-known sports announcers like Duane Kuiper and Dave Fleming, talking about how fun it is for him to be the main guy doing play-by-play.

SHOUTOUTS AND FAITH

Rollins talks about the support of athletics and how it would be interesting to see more unification amongst the athletes and the general student body.

“I think it’d be interesting to see more unification in that,” Rollins said.

The experience Rollins has gotten at Biola is second to none. He shares the temptation of going to a bigger D1 school with more well-known athletics, but the opportunities would not be nearly as much.

“The opportunity I’ve had here at Biola Athletics has been incredibly unique,” Rollins said, “The support that I’ve gotten from athletics here, the trust that they’ve put in me to do a really good job has allowed me to enjoy my work and not be stressed about my work.”

When asked about highlights so far in doing play-by-play, there were too many to name just one. Rollins talked about Daniel Esparza’s 39-point game where much of the anticipation was to reach those 40 points, but this does not diminish the quality of play that was executed that day. He highlights games like the cornerstone cup and Casey Cappo’s buzzer beater against Azusa Pacific University (APU), Coach Simonson’s first win as head coach with women’s basketball or our softball team beating Concordia.

Even being able to hear his voice over edits made by fellow classmates of the games is rewarding to look back on. All of these were exciting for Rollins to recount because whether he has that headset on or not, he is fired up to watch our Eagles compete.

“I’ve attended so many games and worked so many games, that I feel I’m pretty multifaceted in the way that whatever role I need to step into, I can do that,” Rollins said.

His faith is something that has driven him to get this far. It has been rewarding for him to work in a space where people believe the same core things in giving glory to the Lord.

“I’ve really been able to see his grace in everything, His mercy in everything and His provision in everything,” Rollins said.

Post graduation, going into a space that is likely going to be prioritizing many other things than the Lord, it is more of a positive reminder.

While doing play-by-play, there is a way to send in shoutouts through the email displayed on the livestream, from wherever the viewers are listening in and watching from. Rollins will always give a shoutout, whether that be during a Biola Athletics game, to his friends or to the honor and glory of Christ always.