Steve Watts
Radio Broadcaster
Friend of Wolverine Athletics
Inducted in 2005

Steve Watts has been an outstanding radio broadcaster, providing Wolverine basketball fans with an exciting brand of play-by-play action on the airways for over 15 years. He first began broadcasting for Utah Valley State in 1987, calling all the action as the Wolverines took the court under then Head Coach Duke Reid. Watts helped UVSC fans follow the Wolverines through 12 years of stellar NJCAA play. After a four-year hiatus, he returned to the broadcast booth in 2002 when the Wolverines made the move to NCAA Division-I status under Coach Dick Hunsaker. Watts' unique and enthusiastic style of broadcasting has kept basketball fans glued to the airways as the Wolverines have embarked on their challenging Division-I trek.

Watts pioneered the broadcasting effort for UVSC, spending countless hours behind the scenes making contractual arrangements with area radio stations. He worked tirelessly to elicit support for the broadcasts from commercial sponsors, and to generate support for the UVSC athletic program in general. A great supporter of UVSC athletics himself, Watts was a founding member of the Wolverine Club, and served as President of the club for three years from 1990 to 1993.

Watts is a local Orem resident who has long been energetically involved in athletics. He was born and raised in Logan, Utah, the son of Conley and Barbara Watts. Conley was an All-American basketball player at Ricks College and Utah State and was a pioneer of the "one-handed' shot. He later coached at Davis and South Cache High. Steve was the youngest of five Watts children, following siblings Richard, Joe, Gary, and Barbara. He graduated from Logan High, where he lettered in basketball and golf. He earned All-Region and All-State honors in basketball. He earned scholarships in basketball and golf at Utah State, but before he ever played, he left the University to marry his high school sweetheart Beckie Giesler. They are the parents of three girls: Kelli, Jami, and Brooke.

Watts has made a name for himself in local amateur golf circles. He has won 10 Riverside Club championships, and is currently the reigning champion. He has won several UGA tournaments in the state, and has been to the State Amateur semi-finals once and the quarterfinals twice. In 2002, he qualified for and played in the U.S. Senior Open at Caves Valley Country Club in Maryland.

Watts comes from a successful business family. His father started Cache Valley Builders Supply in Logan. His brother Richard owns and operates Watts Construction, a successful and respected area construction company. Joe Watts was a sports writer for the Daily Herald for a number of years, and is the current head of the Utah Golf Association. Dr. Gary Watts is a radiologist at UVRMC. Steve and Joe entered into the lumber business together, establishing Watts Lumber in 1976. Steve's sister Barbara Kerr is a librarian at a middle school in Logan. In 1991, Steve and his partner Brent Norton established a new business, Premiere Products. The primary product, which they invented and marketed, was the "Convert-A-Bench," a popular item which converts very practically from a pair of benches into a picnic table. Watts is also the owner and operator of "The Village on the Parkway," a successful student housing project near UVSC.