College athletic events are some of the most intense environments in American sports.
Extreme productions like football, basketball, soccer and more have something in common. Venues across the country fill night after night with roaring fans, but only one voice can cut through the noise. Crisp, commanding and electric, it brings the arena to life every time. More than just a voice, it’s an energy — one that sets the tone of the entire game.
Enter Jacques Pourciau: one of LSU Athletics’ public address announcers. For him, this is the ultimate thrill.
“The joy for me is bringing excitement to the arena,” Pourciau said. “If I say certain words with a certain inflection, people cheer.”
Courtside or up in the pressbox, his job comes with the best seat in the house but also one of the biggest responsibilities in gameday production.
Sports at LSU are known best for their competitive spirit, passionate fanbase and thrilling atmosphere.
For over eight years, Pourciau has been the voice of that image for numerous sporting events. He controls the energy, making every game feel like the most important one yet.
“You could say it, or you could excite them,” Pourciau said.
A Baton Rouge native, Pourciau has always been comfortable in front of a crowd. As a longtime cantor at his church, singing publicly was all he knew.
“People call themselves band geeks — I was a choir geek,” Pourciau said.
An old joke goes that a person’s fear of public speaking can be greater than their fear of death, but for him, that was never an issue.
Over a decade ago, he was working in security for LSU. Now, he is a voice of the Tigers.
Before stepping behind the mic, Pourciau was often complimented on his voice, with friends and colleagues suggesting he try radio or commercials. If he could sing in front of crowds, talking sounded relatively easy.
“I knew I could speak, but it didn’t even cross my mind that I could explore that until somebody said something to me, which kind of leaves that little spark there,” Pourciau said.
Encouraged, Pourciau took voiceover classes and began recording demos.
An opportunity came when a friend, the announcer for LSU soccer, stepped down. Having never even watched a game of soccer in his life, Pourciau embraced the challenge. He saw his opening and leapt at the opportunity.
“I was very, very nervous,” Pourciau said. “I had to learn the game and what to call and what not to call.”
Thankfully, the LSU marketing staff was there to feed him every word. In his inaugural season, Pourciau learned to love the game.
Julia Fecke, the assistant director of LSU marketing, is responsible for gameday production and marketing for the women’s basketball and softball teams. She and the marketing staff oversee Pourciau in his role as a PA announcer.
“Jacques is someone I have worked with for years since my time as a student worker,” said Fecke.
At his very first game in August of 2016, Pourciau made his mark on LSU athletics with a signature call.
“That’s a purple-and-goal!” Pourciau shouted when the soccer team scored.
He wanted to have his own twist on the usual goal call, when suddenly he woke up one morning and had it. He’s used it ever since. It caught on quickly, even inspiring merchandise with the catchphrase sold at matches.
Over the years, he’s expanded his repertoire to include women’s basketball, softball, volleyball and tennis. He’s even emceed men’s basketball and LSU football’s famed walk down Victory Hill.
Women’s basketball games, particularly white-out nights, are among his favorites to work.
“It’s just like an LSU-Alabama football game,” Pourciau said. “The hype is so tangible and real. The excitement is off the charts. It was palpable. I like to walk around the arena and soak it all in.”
Hosting the first two rounds of NCAA March Madness at home is another highlight of his job. However, for these games, Pourciau must strike a different tone.
“You’ve got to show the same emotion and excitement for both teams,” Pourciau said. “That’s a weird feeling, but inside, you’re cheering for LSU.”
As different sports’ seasons overlap, Pourciau is never bored with about two to three events a week on top of his day job. Every game is a night away from his family, but their support does not go unnoticed.
“My wife is super supportive of basically being a widow three or four nights a week,” Pourciau said. “She bought season tickets to women’s basketball because she got excited about it too.”
With eight years of experience up his sleeve, Pourciau knows his way around the ins and outs of sports announcing.
First: prep work. For him, this means looking at both teams’ rosters and printing them with pronunciation guides because he only really needs to know how to say their names, not spell them.
Yet, the job is more than reading names off a roster.
“For basketball, I sit next to the official scorer,” Pourciau said. “They’re giving me hand signals, and I’m interpreting them into words. We are in concert together.”
The referees give the booth numbers and Pourciau has to read off their hands. He then translates that number into a name and starts talking.
“It’s happening fast, fast, fast,” Pourciau said. “There’s a lot of interaction with the referees, and you have to have 100% laser focus. You can’t daydream. You can’t be a spectator and watch the play and be in awe.”
Pauses in play and commercials are breaks for the scorers and gameplay is a break for marketing; meanwhile, Pourciau is always working, whether game-calling or advertising.
He runs through about three or four water bottles per game.
“Along with his organization and care, he has a voice that fans listen to and feed off at our home events,” Fecke said. “He is the difference maker we need to get the crowd hyped up.”
Outside of announcing, Pourciau works as the Director of Operations at St. James Episcopal Church, where he channels his love of music into helping others.
Music may have been his first love, but sports was always in the picture. Pourciau grew up in a sport-loving household and was a big fan of baseball and the Houston Astros. He carries that love for competition with him to this day.
“What makes Jacques one of our go-to announcers is his passion for what he does,” said Fecke.
When he worked in stadium security, Pourciau spent time working around visiting teams. He saw that, at the end of the day and after all of the animosity, their parents were outside the locker room waiting to hug their kids too.
For Pourciau, sports are more than entertainment — they are about real people who just want to play what they love.
“Sports is a microcosm of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat and the emotions that go on inside,” Pourciau said.
Losses are inevitable in the business, but there is nothing like the thrill of watching the hard work of players, coaches, trainers and others pay off in victory.
One of his most treasured aspects of the job is getting to know the people who make it all happen.
Like so many, Pourciau enjoys watching the blossoming careers of pro athletes after LSU, knowing that, even in a small way, he was a part of their journey.
“You get to witness resiliency, overcoming adversity and the fruitfulness of dedication and hard work,” Pourciau said.
In October, he wrapped his ninth season of announcing soccer. Pourciau has officially been around the program the longest, outlasting everyone he started with and now on his third head coach.
Fans can count on hearing him for the foreseeable future, as he has no plans to stop anytime soon. Pourciau’s voice will continue bringing sports to life for many more years to come.
His “why” is simple.
“I love sports and I love making people happy, and I get to do both,” Pourciau said.
