NASHVILLE – Two men who started their careers at newspapers, with all three making Tennessee their home, headline the 2023 Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame class announced Wednesday led by Brad Kirtley from Austin Peay; writer, publisher and broadcaster Greg Pogue; and Tennessee Tech’s Rob Schabert.
The trio will be inducted July 13 at Cumberland University in Lebanon as part of the TSWA’s annual awards ceremony.
Kirtley left a career at the Southeast Missourian, his hometown newspaper, beginning work at Austin Peay in February 1984, and he never left. Kirtley spent 32 years with the Governors as sports information director before retiring in June 2016. He started as a one-man shop using a typewriter to create media guides and news releases and oversaw Austin Peay’s expansion into the digital age with its own website, social media and live video. He was induced into the APSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
Pogue started in 1980 at The Daily News in his hometown of Bowling Green, Ky. After coming to Tennessee, Pogue was a prep editor and Vanderbilt beat writer and columnist before becoming the Nashville Banner’s initial beat writer covering the move of the NFL’s Houston Oilers to Nashville, the team that eventually become the Tennessee Titans. He led coverage of the NHL’s expansion to Nashville as well. He also has written for multiple national publications, including Athlon, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Street & Smith.
He was publisher and owner of Big Orange Illustrated, the University of Tennessee sports fan magazine; and publisher and owner of The Red Towel, the sports fan magazine at Western Kentucky University. He was executive sports editor for 10 years and senior columnist for two at The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and was one of the first Gannett Co. editorial employees allowed to monetize content. During his tenure, the DNJ sports section was judged best in state nine times in its division by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. The DNJ sports section was named best in the country twice and runner-up once for its division by the National Newspaper Association. He also is a former sportswriter for Fox Sports Tennessee.
Pogue currently hosts “The Greg Pogue & Jon Burton Show” on Nashville Sports Radio. He also is the “Voice of the Tigers” for Tennessee State University football and men’s basketball and hosts their football and basketball coaches’ shows. He hosts Prep Football Talk each Saturday morning during football season, as well as University Showcase and The Shootaround specialty shows. He also has been a studio anchor on the Nashville Predators Radio Network, Tennessee Titans pre- and post-games shows, Titans’ and Predators’ players shows, etc. He has produced for the past 10-plus years “This Week in OVC Football” and “This Week in OVC Basketball” for the Ohio Valley Conference.
He also edited the award-winning autobiography “Out of the Darkness into Light: A Blind Fisherman’s Story” by Mike Lorance, America’s first blind professional bass fisherman. The book has been enshrined at the Smithsonian Libraries in Washington, D.C. He won a Regional Emmy hosting the nightly sports show “Sports Night” in Nashville. He was inducted into the Metro Nashville Coaches Association Hall of Fame for his work on high school sports coverage throughout the state. He also is a member of the Nashville Black Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a former member of the board of directors of the Football Writers Association of America.
A native of St. Paul, Minn., Schabert spent nearly 35 years at Tennessee Tech, joining the university in 1982 until his retirement in May 2016. He served as official statistician, record keeper, lead writer, emcee, radio broadcaster, camera operator, photographer and driver among other jobs. He oversaw the expansion with the school’s website, multiple social media channels and award-winning Golden Eagle Sports Network video operation.
Schabert won dozens of national publications and writing awards, including "Best in the Nation" from USA Volleyball for his annual media guide six times. He was a volunteer at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, working on the press operations staff. In 2004, he was voted the winner of TTU’s Outstanding Professional Award and was inducted into the Hall of Distinction at Minnesota State University (Mankato) in 2008, one of just two stops before joining Tennessee Tech.