Oklahoma State University Athletics
What Makes GIA Special: Pistols Firing – Goodnight Vienna!
July 08, 2022 | Cowboy Basketball
This is the third in our summer series featuring the stories that make Gallagher-Iba Arena special. Our first showcased the story of The Sparks - a husband and wife who met on a blind date in Gallagher-Iba and have continued to return ever since. Our second featured Larry Reece, The Voice of GIA and what he's brought to the table for more than 20 years.
Dave Hunziker came to Stillwater in a difficult time for the Oklahoma State family.
On Jan. 27, 2001, a plane carrying 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball program crashed outside of Strasbourg, Colo. The 10 Cowboys did not survive. One person that was on that plane was Bill Teegins, former OSU radio broadcaster and the Voice of the Cowboys.
How was Hunziker, a Missouri native who was at the time working at Western Kentucky after eight successful years at Radford University, supposed to follow Teegins, a legend in OSU Athletics and an eight-time winner of the Oklahoma Broadcaster of the Year award?
By putting his head down and getting to work, like he had always done. On Nov. 16, 2001, sitting courtside in Gallagher-Iba Arena, Hunziker called his first Cowboy basketball game as OSU defeated Cincinnati, 69-62.
"I think it's just anything with a new job, you're trying to learn and appreciate all of the history and tradition about a school and get to know some of the nuances about what makes a place special," he said. "I just lowered my head and did my job. I tried to do it well, and tried to be fair and objective, respectful and kind. Then, just let things fall where they may."
Immediately, Hunziker was a fit for the Oklahoma State fanbase. His love for anything OSU-related was noticed fast, as well as his love for people. He quickly developed a strong relationship with Eddie Sutton, the legendary former coach of Cowboy basketball.
"It was great, again it was hard for him because with me coming in, it was probably a reminder to him that Bill wasn't here anymore," Hunziker said. "I appreciated the fact that he was so supportive given the circumstances, because it would have been easy to try to be supportive and have a difficult time warming up to the guy. It was not only someone new, to some extent it was probably a reminder of what happened, which was so very difficult."
Larry Reece, Chief Fundraiser for OSU Athletics and longtime public address announcer in GIA, noticed how well Hunziker was adapting to his new home and how much of a legend Hunziker was quickly becoming.
"I've said this a few times, that was tough spot for Dave Hunziker to follow Bill Teegins, who everybody just loved, and we were all endeared to Bill Teegins and we didn't know Dave Hunziker," Reece said. "But I can't imagine a better person to come in, a guy who doesn't have an ego, loves what he's doing and has that passion and enthusiasm for getting to call the games. People quickly learned who Dave Hunziker was and I think Bill Teegins would be proud that he's the guy that followed him."
For Hunziker, he hasn't been the only one in the family who enjoys sports broadcasting through-and-through. His two daughters, Mara and Grace, both worked with their dad in the sports booth for football games and helped run basketball games growing up.
For him, this has always been a family affair.
"My youngest daughter has been a part of the broadcast from second grade on, she's worked in the football booth with us at home games, she was there on a very regular basis," Hunziker said. "In the early days she didn't do much, she was just there. But, after she had started to observe more, there were definitely jobs that she could do and eventually not only my oldest daughter Mara, but also my youngest daughter Grace, was producing our basketball games, learning how to run mics and do things and operate certain pieces of equipment.
"It was really fun, and that's another part that I'm especially grateful for. I'm not sure how many schools would even allow that. It was allowed here; they were totally cool with it."
Now going into his 22nd year as the Voice of the Cowboys, Hunziker is still holding strong in Stillwater and planted deep roots. In 2007, just six years after his arrival, he was approached by Oklahoma State Sports Media professor Dr. John McGuire to see if he wanted to help jumpstart the new up-and-coming sports media program on campus.
Fifteen years later, the OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications is one of the best in the nation with alumni working around the world, and Hunziker has continued passing on his knowledge to radio broadcasting hopefuls in the class he instructs - sports announcing.
"I just teach the one class, so I don't teach much, which keeps it manageable," he said. "We kind of started from scratch, certainly my class had never been offered before, and it's evolved over the years into something different than how it was in 2007, it's a lot different. It's been fun to watch all these young people pursue their dreams, and many of them succeed and they're out there in every discipline imaginable, that is very fulfilling. That's the most fulfillment I get is from their successes."
In his 20-plus years on the job in Stillwater, there's been a lot of great moments that Hunziker has witnessed, which makes it hard to pinpoint just one favorite moment. The 2004 Final Four run, Bedlam wins, Big 12 Championships, you get the picture.
But for him, there's always one team, from Lawrence, Kan., where the win just feels a little bit more special.
"The good thing is when you win as much as we do, there's a lot," Hunziker said. "Any of the wins over Kansas and there's been a bunch of those. The year we swept Kansas, Coach Boynton's first year, the year we pounded them in the regular season finale was just awesome."
There's a reason why Hunziker has stayed in Stillwater for more than 20 years. There's a reason why Hunziker wanted his daughters to join him in the booth for home games. The people, the town, the arena, the list goes on and on. There's just something about Stillwater, and there's just something special about GIA.
But, perhaps, what makes it so special could be the original, white maple court that has been the basketball court of GIA for more 80 years.
"There are times where I will go there intentionally, I don't do it in the summer much, but in the fall and winter, especially during the season, I will intentionally go into the building, go into the arena with the hope that nobody is there," he said. "That sounds like I'm a loner or something, a weirdo. But I like the vibe because it allows me to really reflect on everything that's happened on that floor, that specific floor that dates back 80-plus years to when the building opened."
"I often say if the floor could talk, the stories it could tell would be almost beyond comprehension. It's not just all the moments, but all the people."
Hunziker is everything OSU embodies. He's loyal, he's true to himself and his job, is widely considered to be one of the nicest people you'll ever meet on game day in Boone Pickens Stadium or Gallagher-Iba Arena, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
To him, the connection to Stillwater started the day he accepted his job, and he hasn't looked back.
"Well, I think everybody is so tightly connected, it's very much a family, there's a tremendous appreciation for what's been done here before," Hunziker said. "There's a lot of reverence for the history of the place, whether it's in wrestling or it's in golf, men's basketball or whatever sport it might be. Baseball being another, and of course in the current world you're adding sports to that list, whether it's softball or tennis. I think people genuinely care about each other and have a lot of pride in this place, in every aspect imaginable."
Dave Hunziker came to Stillwater in a difficult time for the Oklahoma State family.
On Jan. 27, 2001, a plane carrying 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball program crashed outside of Strasbourg, Colo. The 10 Cowboys did not survive. One person that was on that plane was Bill Teegins, former OSU radio broadcaster and the Voice of the Cowboys.
How was Hunziker, a Missouri native who was at the time working at Western Kentucky after eight successful years at Radford University, supposed to follow Teegins, a legend in OSU Athletics and an eight-time winner of the Oklahoma Broadcaster of the Year award?
By putting his head down and getting to work, like he had always done. On Nov. 16, 2001, sitting courtside in Gallagher-Iba Arena, Hunziker called his first Cowboy basketball game as OSU defeated Cincinnati, 69-62.
"I think it's just anything with a new job, you're trying to learn and appreciate all of the history and tradition about a school and get to know some of the nuances about what makes a place special," he said. "I just lowered my head and did my job. I tried to do it well, and tried to be fair and objective, respectful and kind. Then, just let things fall where they may."
Immediately, Hunziker was a fit for the Oklahoma State fanbase. His love for anything OSU-related was noticed fast, as well as his love for people. He quickly developed a strong relationship with Eddie Sutton, the legendary former coach of Cowboy basketball.
"It was great, again it was hard for him because with me coming in, it was probably a reminder to him that Bill wasn't here anymore," Hunziker said. "I appreciated the fact that he was so supportive given the circumstances, because it would have been easy to try to be supportive and have a difficult time warming up to the guy. It was not only someone new, to some extent it was probably a reminder of what happened, which was so very difficult."
Larry Reece, Chief Fundraiser for OSU Athletics and longtime public address announcer in GIA, noticed how well Hunziker was adapting to his new home and how much of a legend Hunziker was quickly becoming.
"I've said this a few times, that was tough spot for Dave Hunziker to follow Bill Teegins, who everybody just loved, and we were all endeared to Bill Teegins and we didn't know Dave Hunziker," Reece said. "But I can't imagine a better person to come in, a guy who doesn't have an ego, loves what he's doing and has that passion and enthusiasm for getting to call the games. People quickly learned who Dave Hunziker was and I think Bill Teegins would be proud that he's the guy that followed him."
For Hunziker, he hasn't been the only one in the family who enjoys sports broadcasting through-and-through. His two daughters, Mara and Grace, both worked with their dad in the sports booth for football games and helped run basketball games growing up.
For him, this has always been a family affair.
"My youngest daughter has been a part of the broadcast from second grade on, she's worked in the football booth with us at home games, she was there on a very regular basis," Hunziker said. "In the early days she didn't do much, she was just there. But, after she had started to observe more, there were definitely jobs that she could do and eventually not only my oldest daughter Mara, but also my youngest daughter Grace, was producing our basketball games, learning how to run mics and do things and operate certain pieces of equipment.
"It was really fun, and that's another part that I'm especially grateful for. I'm not sure how many schools would even allow that. It was allowed here; they were totally cool with it."
Now going into his 22nd year as the Voice of the Cowboys, Hunziker is still holding strong in Stillwater and planted deep roots. In 2007, just six years after his arrival, he was approached by Oklahoma State Sports Media professor Dr. John McGuire to see if he wanted to help jumpstart the new up-and-coming sports media program on campus.
Fifteen years later, the OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications is one of the best in the nation with alumni working around the world, and Hunziker has continued passing on his knowledge to radio broadcasting hopefuls in the class he instructs - sports announcing.
"I just teach the one class, so I don't teach much, which keeps it manageable," he said. "We kind of started from scratch, certainly my class had never been offered before, and it's evolved over the years into something different than how it was in 2007, it's a lot different. It's been fun to watch all these young people pursue their dreams, and many of them succeed and they're out there in every discipline imaginable, that is very fulfilling. That's the most fulfillment I get is from their successes."
In his 20-plus years on the job in Stillwater, there's been a lot of great moments that Hunziker has witnessed, which makes it hard to pinpoint just one favorite moment. The 2004 Final Four run, Bedlam wins, Big 12 Championships, you get the picture.
But for him, there's always one team, from Lawrence, Kan., where the win just feels a little bit more special.
"The good thing is when you win as much as we do, there's a lot," Hunziker said. "Any of the wins over Kansas and there's been a bunch of those. The year we swept Kansas, Coach Boynton's first year, the year we pounded them in the regular season finale was just awesome."
There's a reason why Hunziker has stayed in Stillwater for more than 20 years. There's a reason why Hunziker wanted his daughters to join him in the booth for home games. The people, the town, the arena, the list goes on and on. There's just something about Stillwater, and there's just something special about GIA.
But, perhaps, what makes it so special could be the original, white maple court that has been the basketball court of GIA for more 80 years.
"There are times where I will go there intentionally, I don't do it in the summer much, but in the fall and winter, especially during the season, I will intentionally go into the building, go into the arena with the hope that nobody is there," he said. "That sounds like I'm a loner or something, a weirdo. But I like the vibe because it allows me to really reflect on everything that's happened on that floor, that specific floor that dates back 80-plus years to when the building opened."
"I often say if the floor could talk, the stories it could tell would be almost beyond comprehension. It's not just all the moments, but all the people."
Hunziker is everything OSU embodies. He's loyal, he's true to himself and his job, is widely considered to be one of the nicest people you'll ever meet on game day in Boone Pickens Stadium or Gallagher-Iba Arena, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
To him, the connection to Stillwater started the day he accepted his job, and he hasn't looked back.
"Well, I think everybody is so tightly connected, it's very much a family, there's a tremendous appreciation for what's been done here before," Hunziker said. "There's a lot of reverence for the history of the place, whether it's in wrestling or it's in golf, men's basketball or whatever sport it might be. Baseball being another, and of course in the current world you're adding sports to that list, whether it's softball or tennis. I think people genuinely care about each other and have a lot of pride in this place, in every aspect imaginable."
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