Nov. 17, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - As you watch your favorite sporting event on television, you might notice the people talking over the broadcast. Some might overlook or ignore them, but for junior Reece Acree, those people signify his dream and career goal.
"I like talking about sports; I like watching shows where they talk about sports. I like to talk. So I feel like sports commentating is something I could be good at," Acree said.
Acree's life has revolved around sport since his dad introduced him to tennis as a young child. Although it was his dad that got him into tennis, it was his artist mother that got him hooked.
"I'd always want to play with her, so she got me some lessons with a local coach," he said. "She would trade him paintings for a package of lessons or so. He was a friend of ours, so it was a deal they had."
The Pensacola native knew of the UCF tennis program through some local guys that had played for the Knights. He'd met Coach Bobby Cashman at various camps growing up and decided to take an official visit to Orlando.
"It just was the best fit for me," Acree said. "When I came on my visit, I just knew I wanted to come here. I didn't even go to another school. The tour just kind of blew me away; the campus, I thought, was unbelievable."
With an interest in sports broadcasting, he worked with the team's academic advisor, Margaret Dann, and was accepted to become a radio/TV major. He is one of just two student-athletes currently in the program.
"Reece has great gift of connecting with people," Cashman said. "He is a very funny person and has brought this to our UCF men's tennis team. Reece will be an excellent sports broadcaster when the opportunity arises for him down the road."
While he may not do a full-on play-by-play rundown for his teammates during practice, he will occasionally point things out and start conversations about the matches. Acree's commentating idol is ESPN's Chris Fowler, who has covered everything from college football to Wimbledon.
"I like him because he's so good at everything he does as far as broadcasting. He covered College GameDay, and he's an expert with that. And then he goes and does tennis. I just think it's amazing how he's so versatile with his broadcasting and has knowledge of all sports."
Tennis may be his preference, but he is not limiting himself to just one sport. He mentioned interest in both hockey and football as well.
Although his travel outside of the United States has been limited so far with a trip to Canada and a week-long stay in Costa Rica with Knights Without Borders, Acree wants to use tennis' worldwide popularity as a way to put more stamps in his passport.
"Tennis is a very international sport, and it's not as popular here in the United States, and that's what intrigues me," he said. "Having connections from all over the world is really cool."
With another year and a half left at UCF, Acree still has a way to go before making his television debut, but keep an ear out in the future for "Good evening, welcome to SportsCenter. I'm Reece Acree."
Story by Megan Herboth