Dream job comes to fruition for Haynes

COLUMBUS – If you happened to be watching the NCAA Women's National Championship game a couple of weeks between the University of Connecticut and Note Dame, there was a local voice in the background.

Former Lancaster resident Molly Haynes was the Public Address Announcer for the game, which was played in Tampa, Fla. It marked the second consecutive year the NCAA has asked Haynes — who now lives and works in Columbus and is a 1985 Lancaster graduate — to be the PA announcer for the women's final four.

Haynes is no stranger to PA announcing. She started announcing games in college while she attended Ohio University as part of a work study program. After college, she started announcing the Ohio high school girls state tournament games and that eventually led to being the PA announcer for the Ohio State women's basketball games, a position she has held for the past 10 years.

However, getting the call and then being selected to do the women's final four was a dream come true. Haynes had no idea she was even on the NCAA's list to become the voice of the women's final four.

"It is really interesting how it happened," Haynes said. "I worked with Carrie Snyder, who was a game manager for the OSU games. She eventually left and ended up working for the NCAA. She is the one who got the ball rolling."

Two years ago, the NCAA decided it wanted to go in a different direction and wanted to have a new announcer. They searched the whole country, listening to tapes and eventually settled on 60 applicants, with only 10 of them being women. None of the tapes really appealed to the NCAA, and that's when Snyder stepped in.

Snyder felt Haynes would be a perfect fit because she had a great voice and a lot of enthusiasm when she announced games. Snyder contacted Ohio State, which in turn, sent a tape to the NCAA. Haynes was selected and did her first final four in 2014 in Nashville.

"I had no idea, but I was shocked and humbled that they picked me," Haynes said. "Announcing the women's final four was on my bucket list, but I just kind of let it go after all these years. But it is a dream come true."

Haynes is the second Ohio State PA announcer to do the women's final four. Long-time Ohio State women's announcer, Wendy Craver, also held that position.

"Wendy has been a great role model and mentor to me for many years," Haynes said. "I am only the third public address announcer for the women's final four since the early 1990s, and to have two of us be from Ohio State is a neat thing."

Haynes is hoping the NCAA will continue to ask her back, at least through the 2018 season because Columbus will be hosting the women's final four that year.

"That would just be icing on the cake if I can do that when it comes to Columbus," Haynes said. "It has been exciting the last two years, and I know I was a lot calmer this season. I was nervous the first year, and there is always going to be some nervous energy, but I really enjoyed doing it. It has just been a great opportunity for me.

"I just have a passion for sports and I like to talk. I grew up watching sports with my family back in Lancaster, and just developed a great passion for sports then. I really enjoy what I do, and it has been amazing to watch how girls basketball and women's basketball has grown through the years."

The 2016 women's final four is in Indianapolis, and Haynes is hoping she gets the call again.

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

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Twitter: @twil2323