Nashville Radio Personality Mark Howard Dies at 65

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, July 25, 2022

Mark Howard

Longtime Nashville sportscaster and radio personality Mark Howard died at his home Sunday reports USA Today's Mike Organ. He was 65. Howard, a Connecticut native, was a popular sports anchor in Nashville during the 20-plus years he spent at NewsChannel 5. He then transitioned to radio in the early 2000s as host of a local political talk show. In 2004, Howard returned to Sports when he became co-host of the "Wake Up Zone" on WGFX (The Zone 104.5) along with Kevin Ingram and former Tennessee Titan Frank Wycheck. He left the show in 2020 after 21 years with The Zone.

"My heart's broken," retired NewsChannel 5 sports director Hope Hines told USA Today. "I've lost one of my best and dearest friends. He was more like a son to me and he felt the same way, I was a father-like figure in many ways to him. I'm heartbroken for Jack his son, and Debra. He was a great, great talent."

"I loved working with Mark, but the thing about Mark was that he was a great friend," said Ingram. "There weren't many people who were more supportive of me or my career than Mark. He was always very encouraging and gave good advice. There aren't too many people you'll find who were more knowledgeable about sports than Mark. It was almost scary how much he knew, especially about baseball."

Most recently, Howard worked as a part-time host at Cromwell Group's WPRT-FM (The Game 102.5). He also spent several hosting a Tennessee Titans post-game show and co-hosted the Predators pre-game and post-game programs.