From 1996 through 2017 GF Central was blessed to have Del Hager as their public address announcer for girls’ and boys’ basketball games. Del isn’t sure who recruited him for the job, but whoever did made an excellent choice. He started announcing after his children graduated from GFC.

During his 20 plus years at the mic, Del called more than 650 games at GFC plus EDC regional and state tournaments. Del still calls games for the Dick Compton Lions Shootout.  Del stated that he and his wife had always felt tremendous support for the GFC “Team”. Del stated as a parent and a fan of the Redskins, Maroon and Gray, and the Knights and as the PA announcer, “There was always a special kinship that was never about one person or one player or one coach”. This included athletes, coaches, school administrators, and especially the co-workers at the scorer’s table (Joe Ford and Boop Hillstad). Del said that he had so much fun calling the games. “What could be better than a front row seat to watch the greatest game – Basketball!”

Del tried to make everyone’s experience as exciting and enjoyable as it was for him. There is no doubt that Del was successful at accomplishing that goal. Del also enjoyed announcing the halftime entertainment and introducing the captains of the GFC Dance Line, and he specifically mentioned the Iverson girls. UND was also aware of Del’s talents and hired him to be the PA announcer for Women’s Volleyball and Men’s Baseball for five years.

Del lists as his highlighted games called, the many rivalry games with Red River and the EDC teams, the 2006 Boys EDC Tournament, the Class A Girls Tournament at the Ralph, and the Boys Class B Tournament, where he got to call games involving his hometown of Rugby.

Del and his wife Jean spend their retirement in Grand Forks. Joining him today are his daughter Sarah Paschall, her husband Chris, and their children Jackson (7) and Nolan (5). Also joining Del is his son Jon, who was a member of the 1996 Class A Boys Basketball Championship team, his daughter Maggie, his girlfriend Christina and her daughter Clara. Jon lives in Tucson, AZ and works for the U.S. Postal Service.