DJ's Status?

[Appstate88]

What is David Jackson's status? I have not heard from our awesome ASN play by play announcer in what seems like a month.

[firemoose]

It's been mentioned before but you may have missed it. He's taking an extended vacation. He's been burning the candle at both ends for a long time and with the extra travel our move up has entailed in addition to his work with ESPN 730 and the Panthers it's understandable he got burned out. He needs to recharge and honestly, from a personal point of view, should look at doing football only or possibly football and home basketball and let others do the rest. David is one of the best ambassadors App has and we need him fresh and energized, not run down.

[T-Dog]

DJ has done announcing for football, basketball and baseball for over 10 years. Football and basketball alone is about 35-40 events. And he's still an associate AD.

I remember that for the regular season finale at South Alabama, David and Randy were in Mobile for that, then on Sunday morning had to fly out to NYC for the MSG game and only got to the arena an hour before airtime, then flew right back to Charlotte to drive back to Boone.

Harrison Battle has been doing basketball along with Randy after doing some home baseball last spring. Honestly, he was terrible last spring and very nervous a month ago, but he's so much better now.

[appstate77]

David is indeed a treasure. If you are reading this D J, take care of yosef. Enjoy your well earned downtime. See you-- and hear you-- when you get back.

[EastHallApp]

FB and MBB are pretty much standard for college radio PbP guys, are they not? If he needs to scale down, he should probably drop baseball, but I get the sense that's kind of his first love.

I get the sense there's more going on than a super-long vacation in the middle of basketball season, but I assume if he wanted people to know the specifics he'd have told us. Whatever the case, hope DJ is back at full strength soon.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

FB and MBB are pretty much standard for college radio PbP guys, are they not? If he needs to scale down, he should probably drop baseball, but I get the sense that's kind of his first love.

I get the sense there's more going on than a super-long vacation in the middle of basketball season, but I assume if he wanted people to know the specifics he'd have told us. Whatever the case, hope DJ is back at full strength soon.

The point about baseball is, I think spot on. I know he played baseball in high school as he has mentioned that often. He is a huge Cubs fans as well. I could see him doing football and baseball.

If there is something beyond taking some well deserved time off then I do wish the best for him and his family.

[WVAPPeer]

"The point about baseball is, I think spot on. I know he played baseball in high school as he has mentioned that often. He is a huge Cubs fans as well. I could see him doing football and baseball."

Yeah, he was a NE Guilford Ram and as I have told him personally, they never could handle the Western Alamance Warriors !!!
Take care David!!! - You are a special man!!! ---

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

"The point about baseball is, I think spot on. I know he played baseball in high school as he has mentioned that often. He is a huge Cubs fans as well. I could see him doing football and baseball."

Yeah, he was a NE Guilford Ram and as I have told him personally, they never could handle the Western Alamance Warriors !!!
Take care David!!! - You are a special man!!! ---

He mentioned a time or two on both the old board and this board how his Rams would generally demolish my Wildcats while I was at Eastern. In fact when I announced my school move last summer I had a PM from him and part of the comment was the NE-Eastern baseball.

One, he reads this board at least some, and two he is still sticking it to me on Eastern athletics.

[Appsolutely]

Did I understand correctly that Wilcox will not be back on the football broadcasts? If so, I hope it's DJ and Brownie again.

[T-Dog]

Wilcox got a coaching job. It's going to be DJ and Avery Hall going forward.

[TurfMonkey]

Without getting too personal, just curious if he commuted to do the Espn 730
Sunday morning show or is it possible by remote? It was a good show either way.

[T-Dog]

He did the show both remotely in the Athletics Center and in Charlotte, depending on the week.

[tjpappy]

I understand the need for an extended break. He certainly deserves it. However, it still makes one wonder, based on how it has been handled by the department. It was as if he could just disappear and no one would miss him. He is the "Voice of Appalachian" and he is great at what he does - of course we miss him and therefore wonder what is up. I don't listen to every broadcast, but I do listen often and have not heard his absence (extended break) mentioned on air, nor a mention of a projected return. Maybe I just missed an announcement. It is reassuring to hear his dad, but that also led me to hope that all is well with DJ.

[SpeedkingATL]

DJ is THE Voice of the Mountaineers and an absolute treasure but he is being stretched too thin these days and the department needs to figure out a way to lighten the load a little. His responsibilities seem to be non-stop/year round and if it isn't addressed we could lose him IMO. He does have a family now and to use him in a "wiser" way would allow some balance in his life.

[sixtoes9134]

If he doesn't come back and it wasn't HIS choice, I will be one pissed off YOSEF Club member

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Both his twitter page still lists his App connection and as of yesterday he is listed on the appstatesports.com directory.

There is that.

[Yosef]

If he doesn't come back and it wasn't HIS choice, I will be one pissed off YOSEF Club member

I think it's a tough situation to navigate through for both parties. I hope that whatever issues there are can be worked out to help DJ accomplish what he wants to accomplish at Appalachian State. At the end of the day, knowing the kind of person he is, I'm sure he has loftier goals than to do the same job for the next 25 years and as a fan base, we need to be ready for when, not if, he moves on. Whether it is this year or 10 years in the future.

[firemoose]

Time to address this once. Since David began his leave there have been many rumors floating around, most of them ridiculous. No surprise as things like that always happen in situations like this. Over the next few weeks there will be plenty more of them as well. But there is no need for them to be perpetuated on here. What was said at the beginning of this thread was true. Was it all? No. Should DJ decide not to continue at App it will be his choice as he has not been nor will he be fired. Many people in recent weeks have spoken directly to David, and some of them are members (keep in mind that DJ is as well) and frequent posters on this board. If DJ hasn't said it himself then it's second hand news or rumor and there is no reason to post it. I know this won't stop it and that people are going to post whatever they want but I hope the mods will keep a close watch on all this to keep it from getting out of hand. As said there are people on here who have spoken personally with David. They can let the mods know what is true and what is not.

A lot of the issues regarding this situation go back to the previous administration and have just been carried forward. And as Yosef just stated it's a tough situation for both parties to work through. I personally hope that a deal can be worked out that both DJ and the new administration are happy with but should that not happen then I will wish David the absolute best in his life moving forward and also know that App will be fine as well. Nothing will ever take away from all David has done for Appalachian and if he decides that now is the time for the next phase of his life then I'm 100% behind him. No one person can replace all he has done but App will find suitable replacements and move forward as well.

[appgrouch]

One thing that could happen is that DJ could become an independent contractor and still call games if he didn't want to have to deal with everything that being a member of the department brings with it.

[asu66]

If he doesn't come back and it wasn't HIS choice, I will be one pissed off YOSEF Club member

OK, let's nip that one in the bud right this second. IN NO WAY DOES THE ASU ADMIN WANT DJ TO LEAVE. IN APPSOLUTELY NO WAY. It's his call and there's plenty of reason to be concerned. Maybe 80 percent goes back to the treatment he received from Cobb all through the "reign of the red/orange sweater guy." Another maybe 20 percent may be more recent. The responsibilities for all play-by-play duties plus the responsibilities of being an Assoc. AD while earning a second-class salary in comparison with others that Cobb elevated on a pedestal probably sticks in his craw. And it should. IMHO, DJ has never been fairly compensated for his skills, knowledge, contacts, responsibilities and contributions. Then there are the facts that he has a young wife and young children--and the travel requirements of the job keep him away from them beyond his comfort level. The travel during the SoCon era was one thing; the travel in the new Sun Belt reality is like life on another planet. It might be glam for a single guy, but it's tough on a family with small children.

A lot of effort to mend fences with him have been made and continue to be made; but it could be just too late. We should know something relatively soon. DJ is, without much question, THE premier Appalachian ambassador. His loss would be a bitter pill to swallow and a tremendous loss. Gillin has the contacts with IMG to find another smooth and gifted play-by-play voice--but not an Appalachian ambassador without peer! All we can do is hope for the best. If he chooses to go elsewhere, we can only wish him all the best and remain thankful for his tremendous contributions while he was here!