Idaho State University

Featured Program:

Mark Liptak

ISU Women's Basketball play-by-play

Mark Liptak returns for his fourth season in this stint as the play-by-play announcer for the Idaho State women’s basketball team; he's called every game since Head Coach Seton Sobolewski began his career at ISU. Liptak previously did a select number of Bengal home games from 1995-2000. Liptak has spent over 30 years in the sports media business. He has worked for many different radio stations in various capacities including disc jockey, board operator and play-by-play announcer in Kentucky, Louisiana and Idaho.

Liptak has served as a play-by-play announcer for basketball, football and volleyball.

He was the play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky’s football and basketball program via the campus station WBKY while in college. In addition to calling for the Idaho State women’s basketball team, Liptak has covered high school basketball for West Monroe in Louisiana, Highland and Century girls basketball in Idaho as well as Century boys basketball in Pocatello. He has also performed play-by-play for high school football’s Clark County in Kentucky and Century in Pocatello. For volleyball, Liptak has called for Idaho State and Highland High School’s programs.

He has spent 15 years in sports television working for WTVQ in Lexington, Kentucky, KNOE of Monroe, Louisiana and KPVI of Pocatello, Idaho. Liptak has also worked for many different newspapers both as a full-time employee and as a free-lance reporter including the Kentucky Kernel, the Idaho State Journal, the Blackfoot Morning News, the Twin Falls Times-News, the Sacramento Bee and the Arizona Republic.

Currently, he also serves as the studio host for the ISU football radio network where Liptak gives score updates though-out the game, as well as pregame/halftime/feature interviews. He spends his time serving as a reporter covering ISU athletics for the Twin Falls Times-News while continuing to serve as the senior writer and historical contributor for White Sox Interactive.com.

Among his career highlights are having covered two Kentucky Debry's, Super Bowl XX matching the Bears vs. the Patriots in 1986, the 1989 women's NCAA Final Four and having worked for CBS-TV as part of their coverage of the NCAA men's basketball West Regional coverage in Boise in 2001.

Liptak was born and raised in Chicago. He is married to Zoe. He has a son, Mason, and grandson, Kason. He attended Brother Rice high school in Chicago and the University of Kentucky in Lexington where he majored in telecommunications.