Carolina Panthers hire ESPN veteran as their new radio play-by-play voice

The Carolina Panthers announced Tuesday that ESPN veteran Anish Shroff will be the team’s new radio play-by-play announcer.

Shroff, 39, is a Syracuse graduate who has worked at ESPN since 2008, most notably doing play-by-play for college football games on TV. He replaces longtime radio voice Mick Mixon, who retired at the end of 2021 after 16 seasons with the team.

He’s is the third person to hold the job. Bill Rosinski was the first.

Shroff’s family immigrated from India in the 1970s. He grew up in Bloomfield, N.J., where he became a New York Yankees fan and developed his love for sports. He is currently the only minority play-by-play radio voice in the NFL, according to the Panthers.

He has lived in Charlotte for the past decade where he worked at ESPN’s Ballantyne studios. He said over time, Charlotte became his “forever home” with his wife Faye, and their four-year-old daughter Athena. His father and his brother also live here.

The fact that he’s always had a desire to call NFL games, coupled with Charlotte being his new home, made pursuing this job a no-brainer for Shroff.

“Having that local tie, that meant everything,” he told The Observer in a phone interview.

As a transplant of Charlotte, Shroff feels like he is representative of the community and hopes that comes through in his calls and as he gets out in the community.

Shroff started as an anchor for ESPNews in 2008. In 2011, he moved to Charlotte to pursue play-by-play for ESPN, working in the studio for the Ballantyne office and ESPNU. He transitioned into full-time play-by-play five years ago, calling college football, college basketball, lacrosse and college baseball games.

Shroff was recently in Bank of America Stadium in December when he called the Duke’s Mayo Bowl between North Carolina and South Carolina for ESPN.

He’ll continue to call college football games for the network, he said.

When asked to describe his style calling games, Shroff says he tries to be organic and authentic.

“I try to listen to my analysts, play off of them. When it’s appropriate, have fun,” he said. “Be energetic. Be positive. The biggest thing for me is people remember moments, so I really want to be on top of it and tell those big moments.”

He said he’s not a “stat-heavy,” person, rather a storyteller, and he’s more interested in the human-interest part of the job.

For instance, he says no one remembers that Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game for his career. But they remember that he was cut from the varsity team in ninth grade, went to North Carolina and made the game-winning shot as a freshman, made multiple shots as a Chicago Bull, he said.

“I want to be someone who helps connects the Panthers to the folks who have been in North Carolina and South Carolina their whole life, and the folks that are coming here for the first time, and we can find some common ground,” Shroff said, adding that he wants to bring people together through sports. “I’m excited for that.

“We can all unite under #KeepPounding.”