The University of Iowa’s Hawkeye Marching Band selected Bob Shomper as the new “Golden Voice,” a distinct announcing role for football halftime shows at Kinnick Stadium. The position was previously held by Lou Crist for 44 seasons. Crist announced his retirement in February 2025.
Shomper played the bass drum for the Hawkeye Marching Band during the 1971 and 1972 seasons and has worked in music education in Iowa. He also worked as a broadcaster for KBUR/Burlington and WOC/Davenport before working in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, and other cities.
A committee made up of the Hawkeye Marching Band staff and students began the process of examining applications for the role last summer after Crist announced his retirement.
There were 40 applicants, many of whom had broadcasting experience or were alumni of the marching band, Dr. Eric Bush, the director of the Hawkeye Marching Band, said.
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The committee narrowed down to six finalists. The Aug. 30, 2025 game at Kinnick Stadium was a tribute show to Crist, while the next six home games featured each finalist writing and announcing for the pregame show and halftime show.
“We asked them to write the script for the half time show, so about two weeks before the game,” Bush said. “We would give them a theme, tell them what tunes were going to be in it, what sort of special things were going to be in the show, and they had one week to get us back a script that we could look at and use for game day.”
Shomper auditioned during the home game against Michigan State on Nov. 22, 2025, where the marching band created a “Saturday Night Live,” or SNL, style introduction video during the halftime performance featured on the Hawk Vision screen at Kinnick Stadium.
Shomper recorded three different versions after researching how three generations of SNL hosts sounded. The marching band chose one of the versions, but each version received positive feedback from the marching band.
“I did the voiceover for them and they came up with the video and it really was great,” Shomper said. “I think it had several thousand views on all the different social media platforms that the band is on. We collaborated there and they also gave us the finalists and myself the independence to come up with our own script ideas for the rest of the show.”
Bush said after the six finalists announced for one game each, the committee met to review feedback from a survey filled out by members of the marching band, Iowa Athletics, The University of Iowa School of Music, as well as the UI Center for Advancement.
“We definitely want them to have a great voice,” Bush said. “We want them to project well in Kinnick Stadium and have lots of energy in their voice that matches the energy of the Hawkeye Marching Band.”
Shomper was selected as the new “Golden Voice” in December 2025. Rod Lehnertz, the senior vice president for finance and operations, was also chosen as the backup voice for the Hawkeye Marching Band.
“We asked Rod to do the halftime show for the ReliaQuest Bowl and we asked Bob to do the pregame and all the other events throughout the week,” Bush said. “So both of them had a role to play when we were at the bowl game.”
Shomper credits his marching band and broadcasting experience to developing the skills for the Golden Voice announcing position.
“The Hawkeye Marching Band has really given me the foundation for any success that I had in life,” Shomper said. “This is my opportunity to give back to the band what they gave to me a long time ago. And if I can do that it would be an honor.”