Brett Loftis to be Featured on HBO's Back on the Record with Bob Costas Friday Night

DEMOREST, Ga. - The legend continues to grow.

Piedmont's student broadcaster extraordinaire Brett Loftis will be featured on HBO's Back on the Record with Bob Costas on Friday night for his call during Piedmont baseball's March 6 walk-off win over Methodist. The show is scheduled to air at 11 p.m. (ET) on HBO and is also available to anyone with an HBOMax subscription.

Costas, a legendary sports broadcaster, has received 28 Emmy Awards for his work and has called the World Series three times, including the 1995 World Series, in which Loftis' beloved Atlanta Braves prevailed in six games. In anticipation of the segment, which was taped on Thursday, Costas gave Loftis a phone call Wednesday afternoon. When the phone rang, Brett did not know it was Costas who was calling.

If there was one word that could be used to describe Loftis, it would be passion. If one were to listen to any broadcast that Brett does, that passion comes bursting through the screen and into the living rooms of parents, alumni and fans.

That passion is the result of a lifelong goal, to become the best sports broadcaster of all time, in Loftis' words. Since he was eight years old, he knew his passion lied in sports broadcasting. 

Loftis set foot on Piedmont’s campus in 2019 as a freshman and quickly made a name for himself. Within a short year, he was referred to as “the voice of the Lions,” with his infectious enthusiasm generating rave reviews from parents and students alike. Loftis calls almost every sport at Piedmont, but baseball has always been his passion, as his broadcasts have brought about national attention to Demorest as well as Loftis himself.

Just weeks before COVID shut down the 2020 season, Loftis delivered his first big call, as James Whitmer's walk-off single led Piedmont past Pfeiffer on Feb. 28.

The legend continued to grow in 2021 as the Lions were in the midst of a defensive duel with Adrian College that ultimately lasted 14 innings. Piedmont was trailing the nationally-ranked Bulldogs 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning. With two outs and two runners on, Carter Ballstadt stepped to the plate and hit a ground ball to the first baseman and well… We will let Brett take it from here.

It was the call in the Adrian game that marked the birth of Loftis' famous catchphrase, ‘Where Else Would You Rather Be?"

Knowing 2022 will be his last year at Piedmont, as Loftis is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in Sports Communication, he wanted to pour everything he had into one final season for the Lions. That has only led to more notoriety from across the sports media landscape, as he has received recognition from The Podcast About D3 Baseball, Jared Carrabis (formerly of Barstool Sports) and Golf Digest of all places.

Despite the rapidly increasing recognition for his work, Loftis has remained humble through it all, returning to the broadcast booth after his phone call with Costas to call the second game of Piedmont softball's doubleheader sweep over Wesleyan. 

After his graduation this May, Loftis will continue to pursue his sports broadcasting career, as he will be calling games for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer wooden bat league.