Sometimes going to an assignment, you don’t know what you are walking into. It could be anything from a neutral crowd to a hostile environment. Even away sports assignments can be perilous.

I have been seated on many a gym floor surrounded by rabid student sections and cheerleaders armed with pom poms that wielded them like daggers in my face on the baseline.

I am walking into another hostile gym Saturday night, 100 miles of hate away, as I cover the Hilltoppers at Middle Tennessee. After surviving in enemy territory for a night, there is nothing better than walking into E.A. Diddle Arena to see and be greeted by so many familiar faces of folks I have come to be friends with over the last three-plus decades covering the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers.

Recent news will make my next assignment at Diddle a little less comforting. One familiar face that always greeted me with a smile, a nod of the head, a fist bump or a kind word won’t be there.

Phillip “Phil” McGown passed away unexpectedly this week. Phil was synonymous with WKU sports and for me he was WKU sports.

He was a critic and a supporter of the Daily News. He let us know when he thought we fell short or missed the mark in our WKU sports coverage, and when we hit the mark, he made sure to give us credit. A few months back, I received a short email from Phil telling me what a good job the paper was doing these days. His seal of approval was not handed out willy-nilly.

When I decided to write about Phil, I thought who better to get the inside scoop on him than his running buddy and childhood friend, longtime Lady Topper basketball play-by-play announcer Barry Williams.

Williams, who retired in 2017 after 33 seasons, is among the longest-tenured radio announcers in the nation for women’s basketball. He reached a major milestone in his final season with the program as he called his 1,000th career game in a 96-32 victory over Alabama A&M in the 2016-17 season opener.

I sat down with Barry on Thursday to hear about the great adventures of Phil and Barry.

“I knew Phil a hundred years ago when we lived on Magnolia Street, three houses apart from each other,” Williams reminisced, “We had a lot of mutual friends, and a lot of sports was played. That gave Phil a lot of background and knowledge on these kids that ended up playing for Western. It was a good situation.”

The pair traveled all over the place covering the Lady Toppers from Hawaii to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and to the lovely town of Ruston, Louisiana, Williams said.

“The first few years he was a travel companion as much as anything, which was great when you’re on the road four to five days a week in the middle of no damn where,” Williams recounted. “It was good to have somebody to at least sit with you and keep you awake. Plus, he knew everybody in these small towns. He would tell me to pull over at a house and we would visit with an old WKU standout that no one remembered. It was good in the early years, then he started doing color, which was really good. He then did color commentary with me for quite a few years.”

I asked Barry if he had any funny stories he could tell and he responded, “none that you can print.”

I went on to ask him what the conversation was like in the car on those long drives and he said, “Lies, it was the Liars’ Club International.”

Barry said they always rented a good car so they didn’t break down.

“Phil and I didn’t have a good car between us early on. It was a good experience, a lot of fun times.”

Williams said of Phil, “I don’t think you’ll meet anyone that would say a bad thing about Phil. He was always a huge Western fan, and he would easily get into a fight defending Western. It was really a great combination.”

Williams explained, “Phil knew all of the sports and I just followed the road map and drove. It was a pretty good deal for both of us. I am really going to miss him.”

Phil has seen quite a few athletic directors at WKU over the years. Todd Stewart, WKU’s AD for the last 12 years, had this to say of Phil: “Phil was a truly dedicated and loyal fan of all of our Hilltopper sports programs. He was not a fan only when it fit his schedule or when it was convenient, he showed up to see us play whenever we played because WKU came first to him before other variables. He was happy when we won and disappointed when we lost but had a realistic perspective and overall understanding of collegiate athletics beyond what many have. He was a radio analyst for Lady Topper basketball for many years, and he literally supported and cared about each of our programs and all of our athletes. He cared and it mattered to him. I personally enjoyed our many conversations, and I always appreciated his perspective on things. My thoughts and prayers are with Ticket and his family.”

McGown was a Hilltopper fan through and through. His obituary asked that expressions of sympathy be made to the “W” Club and the family requested that people wear WKU gear or Western red to the visitation and the memorial services.

I will think of Phil when I wear red and the next time I step in Diddle Arena.

– Daily News General Manager Joe Imel can be reached at (270) 783-3273 or via email at joe.imel@bgdailynews.com.