DWCommunications, LLC announced today that the national radio program FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW will celebrate 15 years on the air with a virtual show on Thursday, August 20, 2020 from 5 – 7 p.m. ET. BOXTOROW, as the program is known, will begin the broadcast at 5:05 p.m. ET, which is the time the show first came on the air on August 20, 2005. The broadcast will be hosted by BOXTOROW founder and host Donal Ware via Zoom and shown on boxtorow.com, YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter Live, and Instagram Live. Confirmed guests include Super Bowl winning quarterback Doug Williams, Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier and Grammy Award winning singer Joss Stone. Raleigh (NC) Mayor Pro Tem Corey Branch will also present a proclamation from the city of Raleigh.
The celebration will only be attended by a few people in person given the limitations during the pandemic, but people all across the world will still have the ability to experience BOXTOROW in a bit of a more enhanced way with the potential for multiple guests at one time via Zoom. Vignettes highlighting previous guests will also be shown during the celebration. “We wanted to put on a quality, live show and with the obstacles presented to us, doing this virtually is the next best thing,” says Ware. “We will still be able to give the viewing audience the essence of what BOXTOROW is.”
Ware originally hosted the show at a radio station in Baltimore before Terry Banks took over as host from September 2005 to January 2006, before Ware once again began hosting the program. In the early years, the program aired in Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, and Atlanta and on WAUG in Raleigh. WAUG, also now known as Hot 97.9 FM, is the only original affiliate that still carries BOXTOROW.
Today BOXTOROW airs in top 50 markets such as Washington, DC, Tampa, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tidewater, VA, Nashville, TN, Raleigh, and Greensboro, NC to name a few. BOXTOROW currently also airs on SiriusXM Satellite Radio on H.U.R. Voices (Channel 141) and HBCU (Channel 142). Over the years, BOXTOROW has aired in other top 50 markets including San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Puerto Rico, Baltimore, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Austin, TX, Salt Lake City, New Orleans, and Milwaukee. The program made its SiriusXM debut in late 2011.
The core of BOXTOROW’s focus has been HBCU (Historically Black College and University) sports and the happenings at schools in the CIAA, MEAC, SWAC, SIAC and schools such as Tennessee State, Hampton as well as other HBCUs. Over these 15 years, BOXTOROW has told the stories of many athletes, at HBCUs before they became top professional athletes. Darius Leonard, Terron Armstead, Javon Hargrave, Tarik Cohen, Robert Covington and many others have all appeared on BOXTOROW while student-athletes at their respective schools. The program also talks with coaches and administrators at the various institutions.
Over the years, BOXTOROW has evolved and has had as guests sports and entertainment figures including Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, Jerry Rice, Mike Tyson, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Brown, Alex Morgan, Michael Strahan, Sheila E., Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, Common, Joss Stone, Snoop Dogg, and T.I. to name a very few.
Events that BOXTOROW has covered or broadcast from include Super Bowls, MLB All-Star Games, NBA All-Star Weekends, NBA Finals, NHL All-Star Game, Daytona 500, and the U.S. Open.
“A lot has transpired in our 15 years of existence and I am really proud to be able to share this moment with our longtime supporters and fans, as well as new supporters and fans,” said Ware. “This is a continuing journey that began as a way to promote HBCU sports nationally and has continued to do that, but has also become so much more. This marks the beginning of the next 15 years and we look forward to continuing to bring people not only a product with a mix of information and entertainment but also an experience. “We would like to thank our fans, supporters, guests, sponsors, and radio affiliates. Without them we would not still be in existence.” Proud partners of the BOXTOROW 15-year celebration include Harlem Beer NC and Marjorie’s Beef Jerky. Additional proud partners of BOXTOROW include BRIC (Brown Reality and Investment Corporation) and BRIC Sports and Entertainment.
Other guests could be part of the celebration and will be confirmed in the coming days.