Beyond the Booth: Bill Schoening’s life after broadcast

By Taylor Carrasco

Guest Blog Content Contributor

Bill Schoening is a man of many passions and a Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductee. After 24 years broadcasting for the San Antonio Spurs, 12 years with the Texas Longhorns, and additional years of experience, Schoening is looking to travel the world and make music.

Schoening took a break from retirement to speak to a sports media class at Texas State on Thursday, Sept. 24, about his time working in the sports industry.

From his start in Pana, Illinois, and early days in Lamesa, Texas, to his most recent time with the Spurs, Schoening reflected on his career in sports broadcasting.

“I had a streak going when I retired,” Schoening said.

“I hadn’t missed a game in 24 years, so that number [total games called for the Spurs] was 2,280. I showed up for work. I was ready to go. It’s my passion to be a play-by-play guy.”

Despite spending most of his career in sports, Schoening spent time in Huntsville, Texas, covering the school board, the school system and even the prison system. During this time, Schoening learned that he didn’t love the spine-tingling feeling after interviews with serial killers and late-night courtroom cases.

“My duties included covering the executions that took place on a regular basis back then, so I covered 29 lethal injections,” Schoening said.

“I was introduced at an Associated Press conference in Odessa as the voice of death in Texas. That was not something I really wanted on my epitaph, so I concentrated a bit more on sports.”

After the 2024-2025 season with the Spurs, Schoening retired. However, it seems he can’t stay away from the mic.

Earlier this year, he provided Texas State’s own KTSW Sports Radio with his experience for a few basketball games.

When he’s not coming back to sportscasting, he’s traveling with his wife or creating music.

“One time I went to France, and I got to see the grave of my uncle who got killed during World War II. Until you go to a place like that, you’ll see the level of sacrifice that was made during World War II,” Schoening said.

“It was very emotional, so I wrote a song about that.”

Schoening’s career has taken him from his hometown of big-city Philadelphia to small-town Texas to some of the biggest sports stages. Now, he explores new places and turns his experiences into music. His passions in life prove that retirement doesn’t always mean leaving the game; it’s taking a step back to call his own shots.