Art Hains Missouri State Art Hains is retiring as the radio voice of Missouri State athletics. Photo Credit: Missouri State
By Arthur Weinstein on

Art Hains still has a deep passion for broadcasting and Missouri State sports, but after almost a half-century as “The Voice of the Bears,” he says the time has come to step down.

Hains told the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader he’ll retire after the 2024-25 season, calling home games for Missouri State football, men’s basketball, and baseball, with some basketball road games in the mix.

Actually, he’ll go one day beyond next season, calling his final game on Sept. 13, 2025, when the Bears play their first home football game as a Conference USA member. To make the event even more fitting, they host SMU, Hains’ alma mater.

The veteran broadcaster is still recuperating from a 2022 bout with West Nile virus that left him in a coma and near death. He’s still going through rehab trying to regain use of his legs.

Given the circumstances, Hains said he realized it was time.

“The time has come, as it does for everyone,” Hains told the News-Leader. “I would have probably gone a few years longer if it weren’t for my circumstance but it’s more difficult now to do the prep. I’m way less than I once was and I know it. It’s probably time to make this move.”

But that SMU game in September 2025 looms large on his calendar.

“I think I’ll be alright with this once I’m completely out of it a year from now,” Hains said. “I did have one caveat and that’s going to be me calling the game when SMU comes here. Everybody agreed that I would absolutely be on the broadcast. That’s kind of a dream game.”

Since calling his first Bears game in 1977, Hains’ voice has resonated with generations of Missouri State fans. Here’s a game-winning call he made from the 2018 season.

“When people that I don’t know come up to me and say ‘I’ve listened to you since I was a kid’ or ‘My dad listen to you and he really enjoys your work,’ that really touches my heart,” Hains said. “That’s very, very humbling when people go out of their way to say that.”

Fans paid their respects to Hains on social media.


[Springfield News-Leader]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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