Emerson Eugene
Deckerhoff, Jr.

Emerson Eugene “Gene” Deckerhoff is a renowned radio personality, known for his iconic play-by-play commentary, particularly for Florida State football and basketball games, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With a career spanning over four decades, his enthusiastic and distinctive voice has become synonymous with Seminole athletics. Deckerhoff’s passionate and engaging style has earned him a dedicated following along with numerous accolades throughout his illustrious broadcasting career.

Gene was born in Warren, Ohio; becoming a Floridian in 1956 and was raised in Jacksonville, FL. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1967, being later quoted as saying “I’m not a gator… period”.

Throughout his career in broadcasting, Gene has called 529 Florida State Football Games, 2 Florida State National Championships, 717 Tampa Bay Buccaneer Games, 2 Super Bowls, and 1,324 Basketball games. He has aired 2,179 touchdowns with Florida State and 1,258 touchdowns with Tampa Bay.

Gene has worked with some of the best in the industry, including being a co-host and producer on “The Bobby Bowden Show” from 1981-2009.  Gene has been recognized by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association 16 times, Florida’s Sportscasters Association for 18 seasons, Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame (2002), The Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame (2019), the Woody Durham Award (2020) among many other legendary awards.

Gene covered both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Florida State Seminoles concurrently from 1989 to 2022. As dedicated as he is to his career, he is proudly devoted to his wife, his 3 sons, and his 6 grandchildren. As a true Floridian in the broadcast industry, Gene knows how to inspire sports fans across the nation.

“Touchdown Tampa-Bay!”, “Fire the Cannons!”, and “Let’s Go Seminoles!”