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Jeremy Gray steps into legendary role at IU to replace Chuck Crabb: Assembly Hall PA announcer
By Keith Farner
Published:
Jeremy Gray assumed a lofty role in Big Ten basketball this week. He became the public address announcer of Indiana University men’s basketball, at least on an interim basis, as he replaced legendary voice Chuck Crabb.
Gray stepped in for Saturday’s game against Illinois, as he replaced Crabb a 1973 graduate of IU, who worked in a variety of areas and capacities throughout his IU Athletics career, including most recently, as the Associate Athletic Director for Facilities, a role he assumed in 1990. But he’s probably best known to Hoosier fans as the public address announcer at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the last 45 years.
The Indy Star recapped the new voice’s first game:
Gray filled Crabb’s shoes with black Adidas sneakers and took Crabb’s old seat in the middle of the scorer’s table. He sat in front of the fabled microphone — the same one Crabb always used of course — in the red velvet (or maybe cashmere) jacket he brings out for big games, each starter and the order to read them circled in his notes.
He called out Trayce Jackson-Davis last. He’s a junior academically, but a sophomore by athletic eligibility. Amid the roars from the crowd for IU’s star, Gray called out his introduction with authority.
“A 6-9 soph-o-more, from Greenwood, Indiana, Trayce Jackson-Davis!”
It was a nod, Gray said, to Crabb’s legendary amendment to the word.
“When I first started working here in 2002, I was excited to meet him because I was a little boy watching IU basketball both here and on Channel 4 and I always loved hearing him say ‘6-2 sophomore from New Castle, Indiana.’”
Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.