Legendary Eau Claire area broadcaster and WBA Hall of Famer, Mike Sullivan, died Monday following a battle with leukemia. He was 75.
Sullivan worked in almost every aspect of radio broadcasting from DJ to station manager during his decades-long career, but he is best known for his deep commitment to local news and sports in the Eau Claire market. His enthusiastic work on the air and behind the scenes was instrumental in the growth of sports radio broadcasting in Wisconsin. He called more than 3,600 local games in more than 30 states and, in 1992, turned WBIZ Radio in Eau Claire into the state’s first all-sports station. He also mentored many young announcers who went on to successful careers in other markets.
Sullivan attended Swarthmore College and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and he graduated from Brown Institute in Minneapolis. He broke into broadcasting in 1971 as an overnight disc jockey at WMKC-FM in Oshkosh and, in 1974, joined the Eau Claire stations of what is now iHeartMedia. He worked as part of a Marconi Award-winning morning-show team at WBIZ-FM, where he was on-air for approximately 6,000 shows. As a reporter, he won several awards for documentaries and spot news coverage.
He also served as the voice of the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds, North and Memorial High teams, and the Regis Ramblers, among many others.
Sullivan was inducted in the WBA Hall of Fame in 2015.
