About Barry Tompkins biography
Barry was born and raised in San Francisco and began his career in local television there at KPIX-TV in 1968. Since then he has spent five years at NBC, ten years at HBO, eight years at ESPN, and the past fourteen years at Fox Sports.
His credits include play-by-play commentary of The Super Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, eight Olympic Games, The Tour de France, Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open Tennis, the World Gymnastics Championships, World Swimming and Diving Championships, World Figure Skating Championships, and horse racing’s Triple Crown, World Cup Skiing, San Francisco Giants baseball, and over 100 World Championship fights.
In addition he has covered the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA golf events, The Indy 500, Baseball World Series, hockey’s Stanley Cup, and the Soccer World Cup.
Barry is in his 30th year as the voice of Pac-10 Conference Football and Basketball for Fox Sports Net and continues to broadcast a wide variety of events on national television.
In addition to his broadcasting work, Barry writes a humor column for the Marin Independent Journal and is a contributing columnist for Comcast Sports News Bay Area.
He is married to author Joan Ryan. They live in Marin County, California with their son Ryan, 22, and their dog Rosie.
Marin Independent Journal columns
- 6/16/13
- A Father's Day gift all dads could use — directions
- FATHER'S DAY FOR me has always served as a reminder. It mostly reminds me that there is not a father living (or dead for that matter) who, in hindsight, has done it all as well as they'd like. And if they do — they'd be lying. …more (Marin IJ)
- 6/09/13
- An air of insecurity about plane travel
- 'WHAT IS YOUR name, sir?" …more (Marin IJ)
- 6/02/13
- Cleansing mind and body the 'new age' way
- SHHH! DON'T DISTURB me right now. I'm into my oms.…more (Marin IJ)
- 5/26/13
- Down-to-earth life in Oklahoma
- A COUPLE OF WEEKS ago I found myself in what I considered the middle of nowhere. I was in Miami. Now before you think of South Beach, the club scene and rubbing shoulders with the "so-hip, so now set," I will tell you that I wasn't in Florida. …more (Marin IJ)
- 5/19/13
- 25 years of marriage -- who'da thunk it?
- WE HAVE DEFIED the odds. Were marriage a betting proposition our odds of success would have been right there with the Houston Astros. For those of you who are into such pursuits, we beat the over under by 24 years. This week, my wife and I celebrated 25 years of marriage — who'da thunk it? …more (Marin IJ)
- 5/12/13
- Who says a gerbil isn't beautiful?
- I MUST ADMIT to never having been much of a fan of beauty contests. The Miss America Pageant lost its appeal for me when Bert Parks was removed as host, and despite all the promises and wish lists of the contestants we have never once seemed able to attain world peace.…more (Marin IJ)
- 4/28/13
- hank sequestration for all these flight delays
- SO THERE I was – jaunty, jolly – sitting on the Riverwalk in San Antonio sipping a coffee, catching up on the news online and thinking to myself that despite the fact that I was in Texas instead of at a farmers market in Marin County someplace, life is pretty good.…more (Marin IJ)
- 4/21/13
- Finally, a club that will have me
- I'VE NEVER BEEN a club sort of guy. I don't play golf and, therefore, have no reason to wear polyester pants with chrysanthemums on them. I don't own a pink sport jacket, and that eliminates me from any country club entirely.…more (Marin IJ)
- 4/14/13
- Whatever happened to a simple coffee?
- I WAS SUDDENLY struck today by the Starbucks phenomenon. Not so much for the wonderfulness of its coffee, but for the fact that it has created its own genre.…more (Marin IJ)
- 4/07/13
- I can't escape a world of boxes
- BOXES. I'm living in a world of them. I see them everywhere. I dream about them. …more (Marin IJ)
Read earlier columns at marinij.com and csnbayarea.com.