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Remembering Paul James, the Voice of the Cougars

By Shaun Gordon

PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 16: General exterior view of LaVell Edwards Stadium prior to the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Brigham Young Cougars on September 16, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 16: General exterior view of LaVell Edwards Stadium prior to the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Brigham Young Cougars on September 16, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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Paul James, the Voice of the Cougars for more than 36 years, passed away on Monday at age 87. His calls of marquee moments helped shape the legacy of BYU athletics.

LaVell Edwards was the face of BYU Football. He still is to a certain extent. Anyone who argues otherwise has an uphill battle to fight.

Paul James was the Voice of the Cougars. Anyone who argues otherwise has a similar uphill battle to fight.

James passed away on Monday, a little less than two decades after retiring as the play-by-play announcer for BYU sports for 36 years.

The coach and the broadcaster will always be entwined. Even though James’ time with BYU started more than a decade before LaVell took over as head coach, nearly every big moment in BYU Football’s history had both legends present.

The Miracle Bowl? Check.

A National Championship? Check.

Knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation? Check.

A magical 14-win season culminating in a New Year’s Day bowl game? Check.

That 1996 season is an incredible example of how much time, effort, and love Paul James put in to BYU athletics. James began to have heart problems in the middle of the BYU-Utah game at the end of the regular season. He refused to leave the game, ignoring the paramedics’ advice to finish calling the action.

Then he drove himself to the hospital and had heart surgery.

It caused him to miss the only BYU Football game of his career, the Western Athletic Conference championship in Las Vegas against Wyoming. But less than a month later he was back in the broadcast booth as the Cougars took on Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.

And let’s add one more moment onto the list above:

A come-from-behind win over Utah in the last game of both he and LaVell’s careers? Check.

The two epitomized BYU Football, and it was only fitting that they walked away at the same time. Even more fitting that they walked away after a win against the Utes.

That James graduated from Utah and started his career calling games for the Utes is inconsequential. Nobody’s perfect.

But nobody worked harder than James to hone his craft and help paint a picture of each play in an era where few games were on TV. He inspired many would-be-broadcasters, and mentored the current Cougar play-by-play man Greg Wrubell.

His wife Annette passed away in 2011, and their seven-year separation is finally through.

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