Michigan football announces its 2022 radio broadcast team

Michigan has found its new voice for Wolverines football, and it’s a familiar one. U-M sideline reporter and WXYT Radio (97.1, Detroit) radio show host Doug Karsch will replace Jim Brandstatter in the play-by-play booth this fall. Former Michigan All-American offensive tackle Jon Jansen, meanwhile, will join him in the booth to provide the analysis.

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Brandstatter was the Wolverines’ color commentator from 1979 to 2013. He worked with the late Frank Beckmann before taking over for him in 2014. The former Michigan lineman retired this year after eight seasons.

Jansen, meanwhile, will replace another former All-American lineman, Dan Dierdorf, in the booth.

Karsch got his start in broadcasting at TV station WEYI in Flint as a sports reporter. He made his radio debut in 1994 on WTKA in Ann Arbor. He’s been involved in pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of Michigan football and basketball. He’s been heard on ESPN College Football Tailgate on ESPN Radio, as well.

Karsch joined Michigan’s radio broadcast in 2006. Jansen joined in 2014, five years after retiring from the NFL. He enjoyed a long career in Washington, where he became a team leader. He also dominated at U-M, a two-time captain who helped lead the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship.

“Doug and Jon are a great team and will bring their passion for Michigan Football into the modern era of radio broadcasts,” Kelsey Harmon Finn, Vice President and General Manager of Michigan Sports Properties, said. “While Dan and Jim leave big shoes to fill, we are confident that Doug and Jon will deliver to fans an informed and entertaining broadcast about today’s team while still honoring the program’s traditions and history. We are excited about the season ahead.”

“A great partnership has been formed between Doug and Jon and we look forward to that continuing as our football radio broadcast team moving forward,” athletic director Warde Manuel added. “We have the No. 1 rated pre-game radio show for a reason; it’s the chemistry, passion and knowledge that Doug and Jon bring to their work. They take tremendous pride in entertaining and informing our fans about our team, coaches and all that involves Michigan Football. Their historical knowledge, relationship with past and present Wolverines makes this a seamless transition in the radio booth.”

From the official release:

“A lifetime Ann Arbor resident, Karsch has been a member of the Michigan Football radio broadcasts for the past 16 seasons. [He’s been] covering the sidelines and co-hosting the pre-game tailgate show alongside Jansen. Karsch also worked as a co-host of the weekly football coaches’ radio show in the past. And for many years, he hosted the athletic department’s TV Show, Wolverine Magazine.

Karsch began working in Ann Arbor and covering Michigan Football in 1994 as the sports director at WTKA Radio (1050 AM). He was one of the first employees hired at WXYT Radio in Detroit (97.1 FM) in 2001, and hosts a mid-day show called “Karsch & Anderson” (formerly the Big Show) that has been with the station since its inception. Karsch has covered and reported on the Detroit sports market since the early 1990s, and has made TV appearances and written guest columns on a regular basis.

Jansen has been a member of the Michigan Football radio broadcast team for the past eight years. In addition to co-hosting the pre-game tailgate show, he has provided halftime and post-game analysis while conducting the locker room interview with head coach Jim Harbaugh. Jansen has filled in as the color analyst on several radio broadcasts over the years. He also hosts the Inside Michigan Football Radio Show on Monday’s during the season as well as two athletic department podcasts, In the Trenches and Conqu’ring Heroes.

Jansen has been a regular on the Inside Michigan Football TV Show since 2018. He’s also been a morning show host on WXYT Radio in Detroit (97.1 FM) since October 2020.

LEARFIELD and Michigan Athletics will announce a sideline reporter to pair with Karsch and Jansen at a later date.