Cincinnati Bengals and University of Kentucky Wildcats fans may notice the public-address announcer’s voice sounds familiar. That’s because Patrick Whitmer holds that role for both the Bengals and Wildcats men’s basketball home games.
And the crowd goes wild. For 15 years, Whitmer has announced for nearly every UK game and last year joined the Bengals just in time for a run that placed the team in Super Bowl LVI.
Fans probably don’t know that, when that voice is not energizing the crowd at Paul Brown Stadium or Rupp Arena, it might be overheard at Independence Bank in Owensboro. “I’ve got a pretty good seat for sure,” said the 52-year-old Whitmer. “There hasn’t been a game that I haven’t been excited about doing in all of the years I’ve been doing it.”
A Russellville native, Whitmer describes himself as a sports nut, though he didn’t play. “In high school [where he was class valedictorian], I worked part time at WRUS on weekends doing whatever needed to be done, and often, it meant getting football and basketball scores,” he said.
When Whitmer attended Transylvania University in Lexington, he continued the sports gig. “They needed a PA man for their women’s games, and even though I had never done it, Don Lane, the men’s coach, gave me a chance. Halfway through the season, I also began working the men’s games.”
Whitmer graduated from Transy in 1992 and, two years later, obtained an MBA from UK. He went to work for a Lexington accounting firm, which gave him time to continue announcing the Transy games. In the meantime, he hooked up with Lexington radio station WVLK and became friends with radio icons Ralph Hacker and Tom Leach.
Whitmer left radio in 2001, and in 2004, his “day job” required him to move to Louisville. Two years later, he lived in Cincinnati, employed by a CPA firm and later a bank.
In 2007, UK decided to make a PA change at Rupp Arena. The decision-makers knew Whitmer. He had filled in a few times, and they liked his style and the excitement in his voice for the Wildcats. “I know my audience … 24,000 people who know the game,” said Whitmer, who arrives two hours before every game. “I do my research, go over the pronunciation of names with visiting coaches and sports information directors. The worst thing I can do is mess up a name. When in doubt, I keep my mouth shut, and I never want to say anything disrespectful of the other team.”
• • •
Things were about to change once again for Whitmer. “I got a call from Independence Bank in Owensboro looking for someone with my skill set in the banking business,” he said.
“I wasn’t looking to move, but this looked like such a good fit. The bank was on the move, too—really growing—and I wanted to be a part of their movement.”
Whitmer was familiar with the area. His dad grew up in Bremen, 35 miles south of Owensboro, and family visits were enough for him to realize that Daviess County would be an excellent place to live and work.
Making the trip to Lexington for Wildcat home games 20 times a year during the week and on weekends hadn’t been an issue from Cincinnati, but how would it work with a nearly three-hour drive each way from Owensboro? “The bank has been so accommodating with my schedule,” he said. “They see value in one of their employees having such a high-profile gig. I’m most appreciative.”
In the spring of 2021, Whitmer’s phone rang again. This time, it was the Bengals on the line. “They wanted to change up the fans’ game-day experience. Someone in the Bengals organization had heard me at Rupp and thought I could add to it.”
The pro football game day is entirely different from what Whitmer does at UK. Luckily for the bank, most NFL games are on Sunday, when the bank is closed. “I sit in a big production room—maybe 25 people, big screens, scoreboards and an on-ground coordinator,” he said. “I have a producer in my ear, and so much of it is scripted.
“My first announcement is 90 minutes before kickoff. I deal with the national anthem, cheerleaders, special recognitions, color guard and starting lineups. Some of my generic messages are pre-recorded. It’s fun. The crowd loves it when I introduce Joe Burrow [the Bengals’ quarterback].”
Whitmer had a dilemma on Jan. 15, a Saturday. The Bengals, who had not made the playoffs for more than 30 years, were playing host to the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the American Football Conference playoffs, and UK was playing at home against the rival University of Tennessee Volunteers. “It was an easy decision,” Whitmer said. “The Bengals had not won in a playoff game in so long [1989], so that’s where I went.”
He admitted to feeding off the Rupp Arena fans. “They feed off me, too. That’s my role.”
Whitmer has seen the Wildcats lose a few but not many. Going into the 2021-22 season, his PA record in Rupp was 215-27. The Bengals, who hadn’t posted a winning record in any of the five seasons before Whitmer’s arrival, are 7-4 with him behind the microphone. “Who Dey?”