Mick Mixon, voice of the Panthers, former UNC color analyst, to retire after 2021 season
.JPG "Carolina Panthers play-by-play announcer Mick Mixon, left, introduces new head coach Matt Rhule during a introductory press conference at Atrium Health Dome on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.")
The end of an era is coming to Carolina Panthers radio.
Play-by-play announcer Mick Mixon will retire after the 2021 NFL season, the team announced Thursday morning. Mixon, 62, has been calling games on the Panthers Radio Network since 2005.
In the team’s release, Mixon said that he considered retiring last year, but did not want his final season to be marked by all the various restrictions related to COVID-19. He will end his time with the team after a 17-year stint.
For the 2021 season, the Panthers radio booth will return to its 2019 form. Mixon will be joined by Jim Szoke, who has called every game the team has played, for color commentary. Former Panthers Jake Delhomme and Jordan Gross will continue to alternate as color commentators.
Prior to being hired by the Panthers, Mixon was a color analyst for North Carolina football and basketball from 1989-2005, and won N.C. Sportscaster of the Year awards in 1999 and 2004.
Mixon replaced Bill Rosinski, who was not re-signed by the team after the 2004 season. Rosinski had handled the team’s play-by-play duties since the franchise’s inception in 1995.
“I really wasn’t sure I wanted it,” Mixon told The Observer about taking the job in 2005. “My wife and I have a great situation in Chapel Hill. But the more I talked with them, the more impressed I became with the people that work there. Plus, it’s in the state of North Carolina. If this was play-by-play for the Cleveland Browns, I couldn’t see myself doing that.”
Mixon still plans to host some events and to be an ambassador for the team. A successor to Mixon in the booth has not yet been identified.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 10:07 AM.
