by Mickey Smith
This past August 28th, as the Tyler Legacy Red Raiders hosted the Texas High Tigers to open the 2025 High School football season, there was a special flair in the air coming from the home radio broadcast booth at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. What East Texas radio sports fans have grown accustomed to, and have enjoyed for 25 years, was celebrating a milestone. Legacy’s kickoff marked the Silver Anniversary for one of the state’s top broadcast duos, the team behind The TEAM on 92.1 FM.
The team is anchored by the golden pipes and play-by-play artistry of ‘The Team’ leader, Bill Coates, a Tyler native. His precise play-by-play paints a vivid picture for the listeners, bringing the game right into their homes with professionalism second to none. Along with his 25-year sidekick, Kevin Simon, the tandem has survived years of ordering telephone lines, praying in transit that those lines were live and active for the game broadcast over the 25-year stint. Then cellular broadcasts somewhat simplified live broadcasting, although ‘can you hear me now?’ was a new anxiety attack, until now, as live stream casts are becoming commonplace.
Coates said regarding the overall transition over the quarter century, and the future lying ahead., “Kevin and I started as colleagues, and he’s become one of my best friends over the years. We use words and descriptions to paint pictures for the listener. “I want them to hear a game and ‘see it’ in their minds,” Coates wrapped up about his magic mission. “Streaming has made access easier, and you can broadcast a game from more remote locations at a lower cost. The new waves of sports give more people the chance to listen to games on the radio and on the internet. “It’s great for the fans,” Coates concluded.
Coates has been the sports programming Director for local news radio 97.5 FM/KTBB, and 92.1 FM/The TEAM sports radio for the past fourteen years. Billy Ray had his heart set on a sports broadcasting career from his early days, having his sports broadcasting taste buds enhanced watching his alma mater, John Tyler High School, led by the Tyler Rose Earl Campbell, become the 1973 State Football Champions. Graduating in 1975, Coates attended Tyler Junior College. He received an Associate’s Art Degree before trekking down I-35 to Austin to get his diploma, beginning a dream that turned to fruition. Graduating from the University of Texas (‘81) with his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Bill got his feet wet working weekends at the NBC affiliate for two years. Coates next stepped up to a role on KVET-AM radio, covering Longhorn games and high school games. Next, he took his talents to WBAP in Dallas, filling in at various sports play-by-play venues until 1991, before his East Texas return. Easily, Billy Ray could have easily stayed in a bigger market, but his return to his hometown of Tyler, to do what he loves, was all he could ever ask for. So, Coates brought his talents back home after a hugely successful start in Austin and the DFW markets. “Tyler and East Texas have been a great spot for my career, and a great place to raise my family,” Coates said about having never thought about moving on to bigger things. “East Texas has been so good to me, and sports have long been a huge staple in the communities of the schools.”
Coates alone holds a long list of awards and achievements that some only dream of. Coates’ play-by-play accomplishments include Southwest Conference Radio Network as the voice of TCU Horned Frog football and SMU basketball (‘81-’83). Three radio bowl games (‘84 Bluebonnet Bowl, TCU vs. West Virginia; ‘98 Sun Bowl, TCU vs. USC; ‘99 Mobile Bowl, TCU vs. East Carolina), commentating on some select Dallas Mavericks games, two high school state title games, and a Western Athletic Conference championship game. Coates has been awarded Associated Press Best Sportscast in Texas six times and named AP Best Sports Play-by-Play four times. In addition, he has received the 1988 Dallas Press Club Katie Award and the East Texas Coaches Association Distinguished Service Award. In 2023, he was inducted into the East Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He was the two-time winner of the Texas Association of Broadcasters Best Play-by-Play in 2023 and 2024. Coates won for best SportsTalk with Kevin Simon in 2024. On November 1st, Bill Coates will be inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
Simon was already on board at the radio station starting in 1998 alongside Reid Kerr, broadcasting Tyler Junior College sports. A flashy game analyst, Kevin considers himself blessed to join in, giving his teammate all the praise for the long-term camaraderie, success, and friendship. “Bill has been at this a long time and is a consummate professional. I’ve learned a lot working alongside him from day one, and we’ve had a lot of fun in the process,” Simon says.
Simon became a trusty sidekick and knowledgeable sports aficionado after the former Tyler Junior College gridiron star returned to the Piney Woods. Simon joins in with his football experience to provide the breakdown commentary, adding flair to the sights and sounds of live high school and junior college football broadcasts. “The play-by-play guy’s job is to paint a picture,” Simon said about the duo’s broadcasting goal, “and as a color analyst, my objective is to bring the picture to life.”
Simon was born in Panorama, California, where, as a youngster, Simon started out early playing multiple sports. All along, football was his first love. After a great gridiron season as a sophomore at Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, California, Simons’ family moved before his Junior year to Eunice High School in Eunice, Louisiana. A two-way stalwart in Eunice brought with it the opportunity to play next-level college football. Three years at TJC were prolonged after a serious knee injury. However, his prowess culminated in a scholarship at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX., where he garnered postseason recognition. Those efforts were rewarded, opening NFL scouts’ eyes. The Atlanta Falcons invited him in as a free agent in 1988, only to succumb to the bum knees as a late cut to the Falcons’ final roster. Simon has his own business in the East Texas medical field, yet brings a fresh, positive outlook, while breaking down games and adding to interviews with Coates. Simon, as always, is full of jokes and antics, slipped into one of his own light-hearted views of sometimes, not the best of sights.
“We have also spent a lot of time on the road together over the years and shared lots of stories,” said Simon. “I’ve probably seen him with his shirt off as much as his wife has, which is something I’m not proud of,” Simon said, laughing with his usual comical candor. More recently, Kevin gave his buddy a tanning certificate for his legs after a photo op at Dallas Cowboys camp, causing Arp’s Demarvion Overshun, to seek sunglasses for the picture to avoid the glare, according to Simon.
Sorry, single sports ladies with big bucks in mind, both these handsome devils are happily married. Bill married his wife, Diana, in 1991, raising three children. They have a TCU grad, Pearson Brock (39), a Baylor alum daughter, Lani Bell (33), and a Longhorn grad, Braden (27). Simon has been married to his wife, Demetrice, since meeting during his playing days at TJC. The happy couple of 35 years have two sons, Bryson and Braylen, and are both proud grandparents to Briar.
The duo of ‘Billy Ray and Special K’ can be heard as a daily fixture in prime drive time, hosting SportsTalk from 4-6, daily on The TEAM 92.1 FM.