The sports landscape of Mike Pritchard’s hometown has changed dramatically since he left two years ago. So has his game plan.

With Las Vegas on the brink of rising to dazzling new heights, Pritchard sees an opportunity to take his burgeoning sports broadcasting career to another level. 

The former Rancho High School football star is in talks to return to Lotus Broadcasting in a role as the Raiders’ “insider."   It’s not just the arrival of the Raiders this fall that excites him. It’s the “endless possibilities” on the horizon, he said in an interview. It wasn’t that long ago, he said, “that no one could have imagined all this happening.”    

EARLY IDOL

At Rancho, Pritchard opened eyes as a running back. He made the varsity three years in a row, “but we never got to state.” His inspiration in high school, he said, was Blake Ezor, the 1986 Gorman grad who went on to big things at Michigan State. “I wanted to emulate him. He made it.” said Pritchard. Pritchard chose the University of Colorado. He was recruited by CU assistant Les Miles “but I wasn’t sold until I went to Boulder and met (head coach Bill McCartney).”

NEARLY A REBEL

Only a handful of people know how close he came to changing his mind and attending UNLV.  If you played high school football in Las Vegas in the early 1980’s there was no bigger name than UNLV quarterback Randall Cunningham. In 1984, his senior season, he led UNLV to an 11-2 record, the school’s only 10-win campaign. “I had made my official trips to Colorado, Pitt and Illinois,” he said. Pritchard had cancelled trips to Washington and UCLA. “Then I get a call from the Rebels. I had never decommitted from them.

At the time I was living in a trailer in North Las Vegas.”  Head coach Wayne Nunnelly said, “I’d love to have you on an official visit. They put me up in a hotel. I got to see the interworkings of the program and heard more about the school. After that weekend I was conflicted. There was the advantage of staying home and the attraction of helping out UNLV. I had a conversation with Nunnelly. I said, ‘Say we go undefeated in the PCAA (Pacific Coast Athletic Association), what bowl would we go to?” The California Raisin Bowl in Fresno, Nunnelly told him. I said, ‘Coach if we win the Big Eight at Colorado, we go to the Orange Bowl. “Had it not been for that, I probably would have committed to UNLV.”

THE GLORY YEARS

At Colorado, his first-semester roommate was a fellow running back, Eric Bienemy.  They were part of a recruitment bonanza that included Texas defensive standouts Alfred Williams and Kanavis McGhee. They would form the nucleus of a CU team that played for the national championship two years in a row against Notre Dame.   

“I didn’t start as a freshman but played,” said Pritchard.  “We were running the wishbone then. The next year Coach Mac realized how much talent he had and switched from the wishbone to the I-bone. So that spring we had the I-back competition,” which added the wingback. Competing for the I-back spot were O.C. Oliver, J.J. Flanigan, Bienemy and Pritchard. “We battled it out. From what I’ve been told I won the competition. I was supposed to be the starting I-back. Coach Mac came to me and said ‘you’re too small to handle (the wear and tear).” Taken back, Pritchard responded, “But I want to play.” McCartney responded: “We have a position for you.”  Pritchard started at wingback, where his versatility was maximized. “I was on the field a lot more. Our backfield had greater depth.”

Colorado was a team on the rise, finishing 8-4 after a 20-17 loss to BYU in the Freedom Bowl. It was a showcase of things to come: CU dominated the next years and BYU quarterback Ty Detmer went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1990. Pritchard took note when Colorado went into the 1990 season without big-play wide receiver Jeff Campbell. In the off-season, Pritchard had an idea. He went to McCartney and pitched the idea of moving to wide receiver. “Coach Mac said, ‘If you can learn it, you can play.’”  That summer Pritchard went to Blockbuster and rented videos that showed top NFL wide receivers sharing techniques and route-running tips. “I watched those tapes all summer long and worked on my technique. I showed ‘em I could play.” He became the starting split end for a national championship contender. His 11 touchdowns were second only to Bienemy’s 17. Bienemy led the Buffs in rushing with 1,628 yards. Pritchard was not only CU’s leading pass catcher with 28, but his 26.4 yards per catch is still a school record, as is his 17.9 average per touch. After a 21-6 loss in the 1990 Orange Bowl, the Buffs claimed their first NCAA national title with a 10-9 triumph.  

As a senior, Pritchard was named to the All-Big Eight’s first team at wide receiver and voted most valuable player on CU's national championship team. In the 1991 NFL draft, Pritchard was selected 13th overall by the Atlanta Falcons and was on the NFL’s all-rookie team. He played nine seasons in the NFL, spending time with Atlanta (1991-93), Denver (1994-95) and Seattle (1996-99).   He left Denver over a contract dispute. “Mike Shanahan wanted to adjust our numbers. I’m in the prime of my career,” said Pritchard. He was a member of Seattle’s division-winning team in 1999.

SUPER FRIENDS

Pritchard and Bienemy have remained close over the years. During Super Bowl week, they kept in touch by texting as Bienemy, the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, prepared the AFC champs for their Super Bowl showdown against the San Francisco 49ers. The Pat Mahomes-powered Chiefs won, 31-20 with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. “That meant the world to me,” said Pritchard. “He pursued a dream and he wasn’t going to be denied. I couldn’t be happier for him.” The victory gave Chiefs head coach Andy Reid his first NFL title.

Reid has a connection to Colorado’s national championship team. In the fifth game of the 1990 season, Colorado defeated Missouri 33-31 in the final minute in what was later dubbed the Fifth Down game.   “Andy Reid was Missouri’s offensive line coach that year,” said Pritchard. At the end of the season, Colorado, 11-1-1, was voted No. 1 in the AP poll and Georgia Tech, 11-0-1, topped the UPI poll.     

BROADCASTING CAREER

There were early signs that Pritchard had potential as a sports broadcaster. During the Buffaloes’ rise to prominence, he was voted “best interview” by the University of  Colorado media.  “I always had a show even when I was a player,” he recalled. “But I never thought I’d get into media.” A big break came after he retired from the NFL in 1999, after nine seasons. “I was retired and living in Las Vegas.” He was a frequent guest on the Al Bernstein Sports Party on ESPN 1100.

One day, Bernstrein told him, “You are good at this,” and offered to open some doors.  “He was very instrumental in kick-starting my career.” Pritchard remembered something else: Bernstein’s producer was Mitch Moss. With an assist from Bernstein, Pritchard learned the ropes with future sports broadcasting stars. He got his first color analyst job in 2003 with the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League with Andrew Siciliano, play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Rams since 2011 and host of the NFL Sunday Ticket Red Zone. He teamed up with Tim Neverett on Armed Forces radio and Mountain West Conference football broadcasts. Neverett is now doing radio and TV play-by-play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Starting in 2006 he handled color analyst duties for UNLV football for 11 seasons. In 2016 he entered the sports-talk realm, teaming up with Moss on “Mitch and Pritch” on ESPN 1100’s morning show. After two years, Moss joined VsIN and Pritchard returned to Denver where he co-hosted a sports talk show with Eric Goodman, former CNN sports anchor. “I’ve had some great mentors,” said Pritchard.

He’s a perfect fit.