By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Alex Hammeke was the best male tennis player at Ellinwood Middle School.
That’s a nugget he often shares while talking about his athletic background.
“There were six of us on the team. One guy. I just ignore the fact that the rest were girls,” he said with a laugh.
Hammeke refers to himself as “not athletically gifted.” He didn’t play sports in high school. Instead, he found another way to pursue his passion.
“I was not given the smarts of the family. That was given to my sister. I was given my aunt’s inability to shut up,” he joked. “And I couldn’t have found a better way to put that to good use.”
With a knack for telling stories and connecting with people, Hammeke decided to enter the world of sports communication.
The central Kansas native started broadcasting games in high school, first through the NFHS Network, an online platform similar to Striv, then as a color commentator for a local radio station. At nearby Barton Community College, where he earned an associate degree in sports management, Hammeke was the full-time voice for the Cougar baseball team.
“After my sophomore year of college, I was pretty much convinced that sports broadcasting is what I wanted to do,” he explained.
Before he could take the next step toward that career, Hammeke needed to find a school that offered a four-year degree in this field. Naturally, he simply Googled “sports broadcasting majors near me.”
“Kearney popped up. Oklahoma State popped up. If I hated both schools, I’d say screw it and just go to Wichita State. They were my fail-safe,” Hammeke said.
He visited the University of Nebraska at Kearney on a cold and blustery day in January 2021. It was J term, so very few students and faculty were on campus. However, Ford Clark agreed to meet with Hammeke and his father and show them around the Department of Communication.
Four days later, following a tour at Oklahoma State University with roughly 60 other students, Hammeke made his decision.
“I wasn’t going to go south. I was going to go north and be a Loper,” he said. “After Ford met with me and showed me what I could do here, I was convinced this was the place to go.”
HONING HIS SKILLS
Clark was a senior lecturer at UNK and general manager of the campus radio station, KLPR 91.1 FM, when Hammeke enrolled in fall 2021.
He was excited to have an accomplished writer and broadcaster and “very cool guy” join the program.
“Alex is a hilarious, hardworking, extremely intelligent person. He is also someone I would describe as having an ‘old soul,’” Clark said. “He is a throwback to a person you might think grew up in my generation. He has a love for AM radio, he loves reading paper versions of newspapers and he can talk to virtually anyone of any age. He also loves to travel and garner knowledge, and he retains knowledge like no one I have ever met.
“He is truly someone unlike anyone I have ever known.”
Obviously, the former UNK faculty member and his advisee immediately clicked. Within his first semester on campus, Hammeke was calling UNK Athletics events for KLPR. He was also hired by NRG Media as a board operator and color commentator for Kearney High School football games.
“The experience that I was able to gain here basically fast-tracked where I am professionally within radio,” Hammeke said. “Being in a smaller environment where I was able to hone my skills and get that hands-on experience really accelerated my career.”
Hammeke was part of the KLPR sports staff throughout his time at UNK, co-hosting the weekly “Throwin’ Lopes” talk show and calling games for several UNK teams. One of his favorite moments was the historic Volleyball Day in Nebraska, when 92,003 people packed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln to watch matches featuring the Lopers, Huskers, Wayne State College and University of Nebraska at Omaha, setting a record for the most-attended women’s sports event ever.
Along with his involvement on the athletics side, Hammeke served as the KLPR news director for two years and music director for one year. He launched and hosted programs such as “KLPR Daybreak,” a morning news show; “Mitchell Center Live,” a weekly talk show featuring prominent alumni, NU and UNK administrators and other guests; and “Final Thoughts with Hammer,” a news editorial that allowed him to share his opinions.
On top of all that, he covered a variety of campus news and events, including Faculty Senate and student government.
“If there was breaking news on campus, more than likely I was covering it here on KLPR,” said Hammeke, who also served as a sports writer and news editor for The Antelope student newspaper.
He earned awards from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and was a national finalist in the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Media Awards competition.
“Alex has tremendous skill in everything as it pertains to broadcasting,” said Clark, who recently accepted a faculty position at Briar Cliff University. “He has incredible knowledge of the profession and tremendous on-air skill, he is a wonderful interviewer and he is easy to work with. I could go on and on. He will be successful for a long, long time.”
KLPR had a big night at the Nebraska Broadcasters Association convention! @KadeMohr1 won best news feature, @alexhammeke won best promotional announcement, and @Jon_Willis_ was recognized for his scholarship, congratulations guys!! pic.twitter.com/MOAXnrlzsv
— KLPR 91.1 FM (@KLPR911) August 8, 2024
VOICE OF KEARNEY
Dallas Nau agrees.
He’s the general manager of NRG Media in central Nebraska, overseeing three radio stations in Kearney and two in Grand Island, plus a news site and other digital assets.
Nau calls Hammeke a “do what needs to be done” guy with a great attitude.
“Alex is a very talented, personable, team player who is a joy to work with,” Nau said. “He is very much a utility player, as they say in baseball.”
After two years in a part-time role, Hammeke was offered a full-time position with the media company in December 2023. Currently, he’s a midday host on Hits 106, afternoon personality on Y102 and play-by-play announcer on KGFW while also serving as interim sports director for all five NRG stations.
“Basically, if you were to turn on any radio station in town, wait five minutes and you might hear me,” Hammeke said with a smile.
That’s still pretty hard for him to believe.
“If you were to tell me three years ago when I first stepped foot on this campus that I would have a full-time job before getting a diploma, I think I’d slap you and call you crazy,” he said.
Hammeke’s “wild ride” at UNK came to an end last week, when he graduated honorable mention with a bachelor’s degree in sports communication and a minor in sound recording technology. He represented the College of Arts and Sciences as a gonfalonier during the commencement ceremony.
Nau and Clark both believe he has the passion and skills to do whatever he wants in the industry, and everyone is thankful that the former middle school tennis player ended up on the radio in Kearney.
“I’m really happy where I am right now,” Hammeke said. “I couldn’t have found a better community than Kearney to start off in. I don’t really think I want to go anyplace else.”
