The Society of Professional Journalists awarded him First Place in Sports Reporting while he was sports director at KCFW-TV
After a personal tragedy, he co-founded Hayden's Hope, a foundation aimed at helping families pay for their children's organ transplants
Earned his degree in broadcast journalism in 1998 from the University of Oklahoma
Earned his high school diploma at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Started co-hosting ESPN Radio's "Dari and Mel Show" on a weekly basis
Joined ESPN in 2004 and over time began to work on college football and college basketball programing on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network based out of the same studio
Worked as a sports anchor and reporter at Tulsa, Okla․'s, KOTV