KEARNEY — Alex Hameke was the best boys tennis player at Ellinwood Middle School.
It’s a treasured story he often tells when talking about his athletic career.
Alex Hameke works as a midday host, afternoon personality and play-by-play announcer for NRG Media in central Nebraska. “Basically, you can turn on any radio station in town and wait five minutes and you might hear my voice.”
Photo by Erica Pritchard, UNK Communications
“There were six of us on the team. One guy. Never mind the fact that the rest were girls,” he said with a laugh.
Hameke describes himself as “unathletically gifted” and didn’t play any sports in high school, instead finding other ways to pursue his passion.
“I didn’t inherit my family’s smarts. I inherited that from my sister. I inherited that from my aunt’s never-shut-up personality,” he joked, “and I couldn’t think of a better way to put it to good use.”
Having a talent for storytelling and connecting with people, Hameke decided to enter the world of sports communications.
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A native of central Kansas, Hameke began broadcasting games for the NFHS Network, an online platform similar to Strib, in high school and later worked as a commentator for a local radio station. After earning an associate’s degree in sports management from nearby Barton Community College, Hameke became the full-time play-by-play announcer for the Cougar baseball team.
“By my sophomore year of college, I knew sports broadcasting was what I wanted to do,” he explained.
Before taking the next step towards that career, Hameke had to find a school that would offer a four-year degree in the field, so naturally, he Googled “sports broadcasting majors near me.”
“Kearney came up. Oklahoma State came up. If I didn’t like both schools, I’d say, ‘Fuck it, I’ll go to Wichita State.’ Those two were my safety nets,” Hameke said.
On a cold, windy day in January 2021, Ford Clark visited the University of Nebraska at Kearney. It was J-term, so few students and faculty were on campus. But Ford Clark agreed to meet with Hameke and his father and give them a tour of the School of Communications.
Four days later, after touring Oklahoma State University with about 60 other students, Hameke made his decision.
“I wasn’t planning on going south. I was planning on going north to be a roper,” he said. “After Ford met with me and showed me what I could do here, I knew this was the place to go.”
Alex Hameke graduated from UNK last week with a bachelor’s degree in sports communications. “If you would have told me when I first stepped on this campus three years ago that I would be getting a full-time job before I even got my diploma, I would have slapped you in the face and called you crazy.”
Erica Pritchard, UNK Communications
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Clark was a senior lecturer at UNK and general manager of campus radio station KLPR 91.1 FM when Hameke enrolled in fall 2021.
He said he was excited to have a great writer and announcer and “a really cool guy” joining the show.
“Alex is funny, hard-working and extremely intelligent, and I would describe him as an ‘old soul,'” Clark said. “He’s the prototype of what I would expect from someone my age. He loves AM radio, he loves reading print newspapers and he can talk to people of any age. He also loves traveling and gathering knowledge and is more knowledgeable than anyone I’ve ever met.
“He’s really unlike anyone I’ve ever known.”
Clearly, the former UNK faculty member and his mentor hit it off immediately: Within his first semester on campus, Hameke was doing play-by-play of UNK athletics events for KLPR and was also hired by NRG Media to serve as the host and commentator for Kearney High School football games.
“The experience I got here basically accelerated my career in radio,” Hameke said. “Being able to hone my skills in a smaller environment and get some hands-on experience really accelerated my career.”
During his time at UNK, Hameke was a part of the KLPR sports staff, co-hosting the weekly talk show “Throwin’ the Ropes” and providing play-by-play commentary for several UNK teams. One of his favorite moments was the historic Volleyball Day at Nebraska, when 92,003 packed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln to watch the Ropers, Huskers, Wayne State and Nebraska at Omaha compete in a match that set an all-time attendance record for a women’s sporting event.
In addition to his involvement with athletics, Hammeke served as KLPR’s News Director for two years and Music Director for one year. He created and hosted such shows as the morning news show “KLPR Daybreak,” the weekly talk show “Mitchell Center Live” featuring notable alumni, NU and UNK administrators and other guests, and his opinionated news editorial, “Final Thoughts with Hammer.”
In addition to that, he covered various news and events on campus, including the Faculty Senate and Student Government.
“If there was breaking news on campus, I’d probably be covering it for KLPR,” said Hameke, who also serves as sports reporter and news editor for the student newspaper, The Antelope.
He has received awards from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and was named a national finalist in the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Media Awards competition.
Alex Hameke works with future broadcasters in the KLPR radio studio during UNK’s Roper Launch enrichment camp.
Erica Pritchard, UNK Communications
“Alex has great skills in all things broadcasting,” said Clark, who recently accepted a professorship at Briarcliff University. “He has great knowledge of the profession and great on-air skills. He’s a great interviewer and easy to work with. I could go on and on. I know he’ll continue to be successful.”
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He is general manager of NRG Media in central Nebraska, overseeing three radio stations in Kearney and two in Grand Island, as well as news sites and other digital assets.
Nau described Hameke as someone with a great “do what it takes” attitude.
“Alex is a joy to work with because he’s extremely talented, personable and a team player,” Nau said. “He’s truly a utility player in baseball terms.”
After serving in the part-time role for two years, Hameke has been offered the full-time role by the media company in December 2023. He currently serves as the midday host for Hits 106, the afternoon personality for Y102 and the play-by-play announcer for KGFW, as well as interim sports director for all five NRG stations.
Alex Hameke, left, did play-by-play play for several of Loper’s sports teams during his time at UNK. Pictured here with fellow KLPR sports staffer John Willis. “The experience I gained here has really helped propel my career in radio,” he said.
Erica Pritchard, UNK Communications
“Basically, you could turn on any radio station in town, wait five minutes and you might hear me,” Hameke said with a smile.
It’s still pretty hard for him to believe.
“If someone would have told me when I first stepped onto this campus three years ago that I would be getting a full-time job before I even got my diploma, I would have slapped them and told them they were crazy,” he said.
Hameke’s “eventful journey” at UNK came to a close last week when he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sports communications and a minor in recording technology. He represented the College of Arts and Sciences as gonfalonier at the commencement ceremony.
Nau and Clark believe he has the passion and skill to do anything he wants in the industry, and they are all grateful that the former high school tennis player has landed a job at the Kearney radio station.
“I’m really happy with where I am,” Hameke said. “I couldn’t have found a better community to start in than Kearney, and I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
