Helping the next Bear on the trail: scholarship honors Mike Hogewood ’76

For decades, sports fans across the Southeast felt like they knew Michael “Mike” Hogewood ’76 as the face and voice of sports in the region. A longtime sports director at WGHP-TV and WFMY-TV in the Triad, Hogewood spent more than 25 years with Jefferson-Pilot and Raycom Sports, covering ACC football and basketball and bringing his unmistakable enthusiasm to NASCAR and other sports.

His wife, Nancy Phillips Hogewood ’75, saw that connection firsthand. When Mike worked in local television news, the couple would occasionally squeeze in a dinner out between the 6 and 11 p.m. broadcasts. Inevitably, someone would recognize him.

“They didn’t just want to say, ‘Hey, how are you? We enjoy watching you on TV,” Nancy recalled. “They wanted to talk to him.”

The feeling was mutual. Mike was endlessly curious about the people he met. That curiosity and energy were already evident when Mike arrived at Lenoir-Rhyne in 1972. An English and speech major, he sang in the A Cappella Choir, performed with the Playmakers, played tennis, became editor of The Lenoir-Rhynean student newspaper and ran the soundboard at P.E. Monroe Auditorium. 

“He was a ball of fire,” Nancy shared. “I think everyone who met him knew, ‘This man is going places. We don’t know where he’s going, but he’s going places.’”

Then during his freshman year, Mike’s father lost his job, making his return to LR uncertain. Faculty and staff members stepped in, connecting Mike with scholarships, campus work and other opportunities. He began working at Hickory radio station WHKY, and professor Robin Gatwood eventually helped him secure an internship at WSOC-TV during his senior year, opening a door to the broadcasting career that followed.

“He had a lot of good people in his corner to make sure that he was going to remain at Lenoir-Rhyne,” Nancy said.

Mike made the most of that opportunity. Over his more than four decades in broadcasting, he mentored countless younger professionals entering the field. Later, he earned a master’s degree and brought that experience into the classroom, teaching communications at Lenoir-Rhyne, Catawba College and Pfeiffer University.

Nancy said the philosophy he carried from his own college years was simple: “Say yes to the opportunities offered to you. At a smaller university like LR, you have access to so many options.”

Following Mike’s death in 2018, Nancy and their children began thinking about how his legacy could continue in a way that reflected both his life and the help that had made his own education possible.

The Michael Ashley Hogewood ’76 Memorial Scholarship will support Lenoir-Rhyne students facing financial need, helping give them the freedom to pursue opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach.

“I don’t want money to be an issue,” Nancy said. “I just felt like this was a good way to honor Mike and to help others. I think that’s what it’s all about — reaching out and helping the next Bear on the trail.”