Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2017
It's hard to find someone outside of the players and coaches who is more popular with Xavier fans than Andy MacWilliams. It's also hard to find a more passionate supporter of Xavier basketball. His call of the Xavier upset over No. 1 Cincinnati at UC in 1996 is one that endeared him to the Xavier faithful: "Number one in the country and number two in their own city."
The Syracuse University graduate began with professional hockey broadcasting in the 70s. MacWilliams broadcasted for teams such as the Syracuse Blazers (EHL), Jacksonville Barons (AHL), Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL). He was elected to the Cincinnati Hockey Hall of Fame for all his contributions to the hockey community. MacWilliams was the voice of Xavier University men's basketball from 1983-98. MacWilliams also did broadcasts for the other Cincinnati teams, including the Bengals and the Reds on WLW radio, as well as Reds Spring Training games. He then changed direction and moved to collegiate sports as the play-by-play voice of University of Cincinnati football and basketball. MacWilliams began his work at Xavier in 1983, starting with the TV play-by-play and moving to the radio play-by-play. From 1997-01 he was a writer for the Xavier basketball weekly "X-Press" newspaper and from 2001-present he has been a columnist for the Musketeermadness website. MacWilliams now hosts the popular pre-game hospitality events with XU alum Brad Redford and special guests, sharing scouting reports and insights before the games at Cintas Center.
