The mic has always been on for longtime Johnson C. Smith announcer Otis Stroud

Otis Stroud, Johnson C. Smith University’s basketball and football public address announcer, didn’t know that a casual cold and a scratchy sore throat would be the catalyst for a Hall of Fame career.

Stroud recalled a fateful day at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he began his collegiate journey as a student in 1977. The Golden Bulls’ men’s basketball team was playing St. Augustine’s University when Stroud, then Johnson C. Smith’s part-time sports information director, was told their announcer had gotten sick.

Stroud was approached by the late Eddie C. McGirt, who was the university’s athletic director and football coach.

“Would you like to fill in?” McGirt asked.

It was all Stroud wanted to hear.

“I’ve got a little bit of an ego, so I knew all I really needed was a chance,” Stroud said with a chuckle. “I remember Eddie telling me to just stick to the basics and not add much to the announcing. I called that game, and from that point on, I’ve been the voice of the Golden Bulls.”

After four-plus decades of uttering “air ball” and “touchdown” into a microphone, Stroud will retire at the end of Johnson C. Smith’s basketball season, closing his career etched into Golden Bulls history. On Friday, he will be inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame at the 2026 CIAA Tournament in Baltimore.

“Otis Stroud is a man of distinction,” said Oralia Washington, sports information director at Johnson C. Smith. “When I first heard him speak, I just stood in the middle of the court and asked myself, ‘Whose voice is that?’ He’s extremely professional. He always makes sure to get our student-athletes’ names correctly, and they’re very appreciative of it.

“Getting inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame is a great honor for him. And to be an announcer at one school for over 40 years? Just amazing.”

Even before his time at Johnson C. Smith, Stroud was never too far from a microphone. During his high school days at Emmett Scott in nearby Rock Hill, South Carolina — the first public school to serve Black students in the area before desegregation — he was the school’s emcee for several events. It wasn’t until he turned 14 that he began hearing changes in the way he spoke.

“I had to get used to it,” Stroud said. “I didn’t know how to adapt to a different sound. I didn’t know whether people would make fun of me. It was my late grandmother who said to me, ‘Baby, don’t worry about it. One day, that voice is going to be just all right.’

“Everyone has to learn how to accept the gifts that God gives you, and mine are my big mouth and my voice. Being able to share that with the fans for more than 40 years has been an honor and a privilege.”

Even with four decades of experience, Stroud admits he still gets jitters before every call.

“My philosophy has always been that if you’re not a little bit nervous, then you probably won’t perform as well as you think,” he said. “Even when you do all you can to prepare, there’s always a little anxiety. It’s so important to make sure you pronounce the players’ names correctly because if you don’t, you’ll surely hear it from the fans. Once I start the call, it usually goes away.”

Even with the nerves, Stroud emphasized that throughout his years as an announcer, having self-confidence and motivation are two of the most important things he’s learned. He recalled instances when the home team was losing, and fans would walk out of the stadium before the game was over. Regardless, he had a job to do.

“One of my old mentors would ask me, ‘If a blind person came to a game and could not see the scoreboard, would they be able to see the game through your voice?’ At first, I didn’t understand that,” he said. “But the more games I called and the more confident I became, I was able to figure out what he meant. You have to be clear, finish the game, and make sure every fan knows what’s going on.”

Dawn Slaughter, a 1999 graduate of Johnson C. Smith and a close family friend to Stroud, remembers attending and watching games he called.

“Oh gosh, I don’t even know if I have the words to describe it,” Slaughter said, referring to Stroud’s impact on the game. “He almost sounds like those actors who have to voice God. When you’re at a game, and everyone’s listening for a call, having someone who sounds so confident and self-assured makes it all the better. You can tell he knows what he’s talking about. No one can command an audience like him.”

Stroud vividly remembers the evening he received a phone call from CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker informing him that he was one of eight inductees into the CIAA Hall of Fame. The call left Stroud “breathless,” he said.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted, but I never wanted to ask for it,” Stroud said. “I wanted to earn it. I remember just telling her how grateful I was for the honor and the privilege to be in something that so many greats have been a part of before me.”

As the day of Stroud’s induction nears, he said he’s even more thankful to three people who played vital roles in his journey and success: McGirt, who allowed Stroud to call his first game; the late Wylie Harris, a former Johnson C. Smith football coach who mentored Stroud and taught him about life; and his late wife, Betty Stroud, whom he referred to as his “heart” and “spirit” and the person who encouraged him to do his best.

No matter how many times Stroud is asked what the most rewarding part of his career has been, his, answer remains the same.

“To be able to sit at center court and watch the best basketball being played in the CIAA. … It almost feels like I’m cheating,” Stroud said, laughing. “I have the best seat in the house and could tell people exactly what I was seeing. In football, it was pretty much the same. I’d be up in the press box, looking down on the field, just being able to see everything.

“It’s something I’ll never forget, and I’ll always be thankful for.”

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