Dwight Wallace brings more than six decades of college football expertise to Mountaineer football radio broadcasts as veteran play-by-play man Tony Caridi’s No. 1 sidekick.
Wallace joined the radio network in 1999 and has been involved with Mountaineer football ever since, describing West Virginia’s great run in the mid-2000s when WVU captured Sugar, Gator and Fiesta Bowl victories.
He was also on hand to break down West Virginia’s record-setting 70-33 victory over Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl.
Wallace’s association with West Virginia University dates to 1985 when Don Nehlen hired him to coach the Mountaineer quarterbacks. His top protégé was two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Major Harris, who led West Virginia to its first undefeated and untied regular season in school history and a meeting against top-ranked Notre Dame in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl for college football’s national championship.
Wallace was a part of WVU bowl teams in 1987, 1988 and 1989 before leaving the coaching profession to enter private business.
Prior to West Virginia, Wallace coached the Cardinals for seven seasons from 1978-84, compiling a record of 40-37 that included an outstanding 10-1 mark in 1978 when he was named Mid-American Conference coach of the year. His last three years at Ball State he also served as athletic director.
Wallace’s coaching resume includes a four-year stint in the Big Eight Conference working on Bill Mallory’s staff at Colorado, three seasons at Ball State and one year each at Central Michigan and Iowa Wesleyan.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Bowling Green, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1966 and a master’s degree in educational administration in 1967. The Wilmington, Ohio, native was a standout quarterback and defensive back for the Falcons from 1963-65.
He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Wallace and his wife, Leslie, reside in Martinsville, Indiana. They have two daughters, Denise and Amy, and four grandchildren who each earned college scholarships in four different sports - Jeff to Nebraska in baseball, Tommy to Valparaiso in basketball, Brian to Illinois State in football and Katie to Bethel College in volleyball.
