Da da da, da da da!

Sports fans can hear it so vividly. Their mind rushes them back to laying on the floor as a kid, the glow of their TV illuminating the room, watching in awe as they showed the Top 10 plays of the day; their eyes glued to the ticker hoping to catch the scores of the games or the stats of their favorite player. 

That’s when he saw it: Oakland University beat Oral Roberts University 61-60 to clinch a bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Inconsequential to most, but this would shift his life forever.

“I’m sitting here right now because of that,” says Neal Ruhl, CAS ’06. “End of story. That is literally why I went to Oakland University.”

Ruhl was attending Macomb Community College, where he was finalizing earning his associate’s degree and looking to take the next step. Making the coveted March Madness tournament was enough to convince Ruhl to pursue Oakland University.

“I was between Eastern Michigan and Oakland,” Ruhl recalls. “I didn’t have a ton of money, so my choices were limited. I knew I wanted to pursue a degree in sports journalism.”

Once he was on campus, Ruhl immediately committed his time to OU’s radio station, WXOU. “I had to go there to do a news report for one of my classes,” he says, “and the guy running the station said, ‘You’re pretty good at this, you ever think of having your own show?’ and I said, ‘Just my entire life.’”

Starting the next day, Ruhl created his own sports show, starting the foundation for the rest of his career. His persistence with the talk show and his natural ability on the mic led to an invitation to do play-by-play for the men’s basketball team, the same one that led to him choosing to attend Oakland.

“I couldn’t say no,” says Ruhl.

It was like being thrown in the deep end not knowing how to swim; Ruhl was on his own and forced to either figure it out quickly or crash and burn. He was a one-man crew: set up, testing levels, and not only filling the air but making it entertaining and informative for those listening. 

“There is no professional situation that I’ve ever been in where I was not prepared because of my time spent at WXOU,” says Ruhl. “When I started doing play-by-play for WXOU, we didn’t have commercials. I would call a game for two hours straight, nobody to pass it to, no commercials, no halftime show, just me.”

Despite having no one to lean on for those games, Ruhl never faltered. He worked harder. He improved how he prepped for games, to ensure he always had something to fill those gaps during the games. 

“I prepped for those games with the same intensity I do now,” states Ruhl, “but now I have a few more tips and tricks to help me. I knew somebody was listening to those games, and I wanted to make it enjoyable for them.”

During Ruhl’s senior year at OU, he made the trip to South Dakota for the Summit League Championship for WXOU. The associate athletic director for Oakland University, Scott MacDonald, ended up listening to his calls during the trip. He gave Ruhl some tips and advice on how to improve his craft over dinner. MacDonald saw potential.

“I had no real job prospects with graduation looming. I was just delivering pizzas,” laughs Ruhl. “But Scott approached me with an idea. He pitched that I would do the color commentary and the engineering for Mario Impemba [the old voice of the Detroit Tigers], who was hired by OU doing the official play-by-play.” 

“I couldn’t say no,” he adds.

Ruhl’s role was to make Impemba’s job easier by taking on the role of sound engineer: Set up equipment, make sure everything ran smoothly and be his right-hand man on the broadcast.

“That was my first professional broadcast job,” says Ruhl. “We traveled the country; it was an awesome experience. I got to work with Mario for three, four years and it helped me truly get established.”

Ruhl was able to call OU’s 2010 NCAA Tournament loss by himself, since Impemba had to report for Tigers Spring Training. The next year, Impemba had to focus full time on the Tigers, leaving Ruhl as the main commentator in the booth.

“It happened to coincide with Oakland leaving the Summit League and joining the Horizon League, who had a deal with ESPN 3 [now ESPN+]. Luckily, Scott was forward-thinking and created the role of director of broadcast for me.”

“I couldn’t say no,” he says.

“I called all the Oakland basketball games, I negotiated our radio contracts, I was in charge,” Ruhl continues. “The only reason this happened to me was because of the relationships and work I had done at Oakland and WXOU.” 

In 2013, Oakland University not only made the tournament but was able to host games at the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons, before losing in the first round.

“We worked hand-in-hand with the Pistons people,” says Ruhl. “I was able to build relationships with them, and they noticed my work ethic and listened to me call the games. They let me know they were interested and would be in touch. Fast-forward to 2015 when I get a call and they say, ‘Hey, can you fly out to Washington D.C. and call the Wizards game for us?’”

“I couldn’t say no,” he recalls.

Ruhl is still the Pistons No. 1 fill-in and was able to do the play-by-play for their preseason games this season, crediting his success back to OU and WXOU.

“Now when I call games, especially professional games, we have multiple-person crews and everything is done for me. They’ll say, ‘Hey we need you to fill this 30-seconds gap in the action.’ Thirty seconds? That’s so easy compared to doing a full halftime solo.”

When a door opens and an opportunity presents itself, Ruhl does not hesitate to jump on it. 

“Figure it out,” states Ruhl. “Do whatever it takes to take advantage of what is presented to you. There have been hundreds and hundreds of times where I get asked to fill in or do a game, and I figure it out and make it work with our schedule. I’ve never said ‘no.’”

Except once. 

“My wife was pregnant with my daughter, and we had a C-section scheduled two weeks out on a Monday,” Ruhl says. “I got a call to fill in on that day. I apologized profusely and told them that I hope this doesn’t put my role in jeopardy. I’d never said no before, and I didn’t want this to ruin what I’ve built. I was basically apologizing for my daughter being born.”

His daughter ended up coming a week early. “I could’ve been there,” Ruhl continues. “I could’ve said yes and been fine.”

That’s Ruhl’s mindset. Saying no is just a chance to ruin everything you’ve built.

“That’s always my advice for young broadcasters. When I talk to them, I reiterate that they need to be hungry for this,” Ruhl explains. “It’s all you need to focus on: You need to eat, sleep and breathe this.”

“Choosing Oakland was the greatest decision I ever made in my life. I was able to achieve all of my dreams.”

Neal Ruhl

Rob Hall

Ruhl wears multiple caps nowadays. He’s the voice of Detroit City FC soccer, he has a daily talk show on Woodward Sports with former Stanley Cup-winning Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty, and he fills in on occasion with the Detroit Pistons. He’s also still in his director of broadcasting role with Oakland University, doing play-by-play for the men’s basketball team.

Ruhl got his full-circle moment in 2024, courtside in Pittsburgh, doing play-by-play. The kid that picked a school based on clinching a bid into March Madness got to watch Jack Gholke and Trey Townsend have their shining moment upsetting the blue-blood Kentucky team. 

The team that provided him with all the opportunities that he’s had throughout his life was finally able to get their flowers, and he got to call it.

“It was everything I hoped for,” Ruhl says. “It was everything.”