Logen Howell has a voice that might be heard ‘round the world of sports one day, starting with his ventures at St. Ambrose University and leading to his aspirations of announcing for his favorite NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers.

His dream is based on his love for sports and his self-started adoration for sports talk and radio.

“The interesting thing is that no one I know has gone into sports radio, so it was kind of just something I wanted to do,” Howell said. “I didn’t really have a role model, but one person that sticks out to me is Greg Papa.”

Greg Papa is the announcer for the San Francisco 49ers. Papa is widely known for his iconic touchdown call—one that Howell twists into an SAU interpretation.

Howell, an SAU junior, is a prominent figure in the communications departments at SAU. One may find him filming at a basketball game, announcing at a football game or trekking the stairs from SAUtv to KALA-FM in Galvin Fine Arts Center. A Digital Media Production major, Howell is involved with several different media outlets on campus, including KALA-FM, SAUtv and (previously) The Buzz. He is also the co-host of “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” a sports talk radio show that Howell takes much pride in.

“’Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ has been my main focus most of my time here,” Howell said. “To me, it’s something fun to do. It’s not a burden to me.”

Howell’s love for sports started when he was in high school at Pekin Community High School, where he played football and was involved in track and field.

“I knew I wanted to remain active within sports, but not at a playing capacity,” Howell said. “Growing up, I would watch sports on TV and listen to sports talk radio, and I thought it was really cool that they got to do that on a daily basis.”

When he was a freshman at SAU, Howell was applying for work study jobs and found a position assisting the Sports Information Director with filming practices for the SAU Fighting Bees football team. At the same time, Howell began working for Mediacom, filming high school and college sporting events.

During this time, Howell also met David Baker, the operations manager at KALA-FM, and Don “Duke” Schneider, the operations manager at SAUtv.

“I was a little nervous to get started, but Dave and Duke helped me out and got me going,” Howell said.

 Then, in the second semester of his freshman year, Howell had the opportunity to assist Brad Burton, 2020 SAU graduate, with “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” as Burton needed a co-host for the show. After a few episodes, Howell was a consistent co-host of the show. From then on, Howell took over the show after Burton graduated and brought on David Meyer, SAU junior, as his co-host.

“Logen has done a good job of covering sports and other St. Ambrose activities,” Baker said. “He does a very good job describing things that the listener can’t see.”

Looking back on his path throughout his time at SAU, Howell says he would change one thing: jumping into these opportunities sooner.

Howell said that students who wish to follow a similar career path should try to get involved as early as possible.

“Here at St. Ambrose, you have everything for you. Dave, Duke and Shelby (Leabo) make it so easy to get started.” Howell said. “Just do it. Don’t let the nerves get to you.”