Jim McCulloch
Play-by-play "Voice of the Bulldogs"

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Jim McCulloch likes to call himself a “seasoned” sportscaster...the gray hair is only a disguise! A broadcasting graduate from Brigham Young University, where one of his roommates and best friends was future World Series MVP Jack Morris, McCulloch’s collegiate sports career included playing volleyball for the nationally-ranked Cougars under Olympic head coach Carl McGown.

After college, McCulloch played one year of semi-pro football (“all the pain - none of the money”) and quickly realized his future lay elsewhere. His broadcasting career began in Nashville as the sports guy for WKDA/WKDF radio. He made the move to television at KARK in Little Rock, where he won several awards but recalls his “proudest moment... or, maybe not” was when then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton personally asked for McCulloch’s advice as to which horses to bet on at the Arkansas Derby (“he still owes me $50”).

McCulloch became sports anchor at WFTV in Orlando, where he was to provide play-by-play for the USFL Orlando Renegades and host the coach Lee Corso Show, but the League folded just weeks after Jim’s arrival (“maybe not coincidence”). In 1986, he became the first-ever sports anchor at WCNC-TV in Charlotte as the station began local news coverage (“our newsroom had no money and talent to match…”). 

In addition to his duties at WCNC-TV, McCulloch also hosted the Charlotte Hornets head coach Dick Harter show on WCCB. As a hobby, McCulloch launched a little company which produced the first-ever collectible cards for NASCAR...and it didn’t take long for Maxx Race Cards to take up most of his time, becoming one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the country, forcing him away from full-time sportscasting.

McCulloch did manage to author the award-winning, flash-in-the-pan best seller “How to tell if you’re a REAL Race Fan,” as well as free-lancing occasionally with CBS, Performance Racing Network and others, but he was thrilled when Wingate University offered him a chance to do play-by-play for their football and basketball teams. McCulloch’s work has been seen or heard on ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, CNN, PBS and of course, the Wingate University Sports Network. Jim and his wife Gretchen have four sons and live in Charlotte.