We call Louisiana Tech broadcaster Dave Nitz “Freeway Dave” because in the early 1980s when the Lady Techsters were in their infancy, they went to the West Coast, handed Long Beach State and USC and UCLA their hats, and came on back to Ruston en route to one of their earlier national championships.

Dave did the games. But that was the only time anyone saw him, was courtside during the games. Then he and his rent car were gone.

“I wanted to see everything; had never been out there,” he said. “I rented a car with ‘unlimited mileage.’ I exceeded that.”

Back home, Lady Techsters coach Leon Barmore, on an old manual typewriter, wrote “The Ballad of Freeway Dave,” a lyrical piece that chronicles the hijinks of a West Virginian alone in the West Coast fast lane, and loving every minute of it.

Barmore became a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame several years ago; Freeway will join him when he’s inducted as a Distinguished Service Award recipient during Induction Weekend June 6-8 in Natchitoches. (Ticket info is at LASportsHall.com)

The Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism is the most prestigious honor offered to sports media in the state. Recipients are chosen by the 35-member Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame selection committee based on nominees’ professional accomplishments in local, state, regional and even national arenas, with leadership in the LSWA a contributing factor and three decades of work in the profession as a requirement.

Freeway came to Ruston in 1974 and told wife Marlene to strap in for two or three years. But when the Tech footballers visit Austin in late August to take on the Texas Longhorns, it will mark the start of the 45th season Dave has called Tech contests.

Lump in basketball and baseball and he’s called more than 3,000 Tech events. This summer was his first in more than 35 years to not be a play by play guy for a professional baseball team; he’s called more than 4,000 pro baseball games.

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