Vince Wright started his podcast with an iPad in his basement and no real plan. Fifteen years after a couple of friends in an online chat room gave him the nickname “the sports governor of Minnesota,” he is sitting down with the voice of the Vikings and getting recognized by strangers at golf tournaments in Phoenix.
Wright joined hosts Charles Hallman and Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald on Blacklight on Sports to talk about Sports Done Wright, his approach to covering Minnesota sports, the missed opportunities around engaging minority fans, and why he thinks the University of Minnesota needs to make peace with Clem Haskins.
How It Started
Wright traces the origin of Sports Done Wright back to a live chat room built around a podcast out of Atlanta. He became a regular voice in that room, known as the guy from Minnesota who always had the local sports information. Two friends from the chat invited him onto their show to talk Minnesota sports, and after a few appearances, they gave him a nickname and a push.
“They said, ‘Man, you’re like this sports information dude. We’re going to call you the sports governor of Minnesota,’” he said.
Those same friends eventually told him to start his own show. He did, alone in his basement with an iPad and a recording app.
“I just hit record and started fumbling around with it a little bit,” he said. “That first one, we ain’t putting this out.”
He kept going. The show has since become a regular presence in the Minnesota sports media landscape, with episodes running roughly 30 minutes solo and up to an hour when he has a guest.
Wright said his approach is deliberately conversational rather than scripted.
“I literally threw the script out,” he said. “When I have guests on, I may have a question or two, but it’s really just sitting down and talking with people about sports.”
Covering a Crowded Minnesota Sports Scene
Wright is a University of Minnesota graduate, and the show leans heavily toward Gophers coverage, particularly during football season. But he is quick to point out how much is happening across the state.
“We have every pro team, we have women’s sports, we have Division I sports, and now with St. Thomas, we have a second school at the D1 level,” he said.
He also uses the platform to push back against the dismissiveness Minnesota programs get nationally, especially from his network of contacts in SEC country.
“When it comes to college football, Minnesota don’t play. That don’t even count,” he said, describing the attitude he regularly encounters. “So I got a lot of SEC haters on my back.”
This year Wright has focused on bringing local media figures onto the show, including Darren Wolfson and Chris Long from KSTP, Julia Daniels from KARE 11, Pierre Noujaim from KMSP, former KARE 11 sports director Reggie Wilson, and Paul Allen, the voice of the Minnesota Vikings.
On Tailgating and the Missing Fans
One of the more pointed stretches of the conversation revisited a topic Hallman and Wright have discussed for years: the near-total absence of Black fans at Gophers football games and tailgates.
Years ago Wright invited Hallman to a tailgate to show him there were, in fact, Black people there. The conversation stuck with both of them.
“There’s this missed opportunity and we talked about it back then and I’ll keep saying it today,” Wright said. “To really market to minority youth. Let’s go over to the north side. Put some tickets out at the high schools and junior highs. Maybe provide a bus to help get kids over to a game, especially when they have a weekend afternoon game.”
He pointed to several barriers: ticket prices, seat licenses that cost more than the tickets themselves, the all-day time commitment of a tailgate, and the simple reality that watching from home on the Big Ten Network is easier and cheaper.
Wright, who gave up his own season seats this year, was blunt about the university’s role.
“It’s a missed opportunity that the university keeps missing for whatever reason,” he said.
Clem Haskins and the 1997 Team
Both Wright and Hallman spent time on the distance between the University of Minnesota and Clem Haskins, the coach who led the Gophers to the Final Four in 1997 and made Williams Arena one of the most intimidating venues in college basketball.
“It’s really kind of a shame, the distance that has happened between the University of Minnesota and Clem Haskins,” Wright said. “He brought the aura to this team, to this campus. Minnesota, number two in the country, and that’s back when college basketball was college basketball.”
Hallman shared memories of covering that era, including late-night conversations in Haskins’ office after games that would stretch until two or three in the morning, and the iconic image of Bobby Jackson scoring underneath the backboard against Kentucky.
He also recalled Haskins telling him that if the Gophers had won the national championship that year, he would have retired on the spot.
Wright said he hopes the university finds a way to formally recognize Haskins and that 1997 team while Haskins is still able to be there, drawing a comparison to how Michigan eventually came around on the Fab Five.
“Clem is having some health issues as he’s gotten older, and it would be really great to see him back at the barn to get the love he deserves,” Wright said.
Hallman noted that current Gophers coach Niko Medved, who served as a student manager under Haskins, has expressed interest in making that recognition happen.
St. Thomas and the Next Decade
With St. Thomas now competing at the Division I level, both agreed the dynamic in the Twin Cities is shifting. Hallman predicted that within five to 10 years, St. Thomas could match or surpass Minnesota in every sport except football.
“I could see that, and that’s something the University of Minnesota better take seriously,” Wright said. “That alumni network over there, they got money. Two people giving all this money to build a new arena.”
He noted that St. Thomas has also resisted putting a corporate name on their new facility, something he appreciated.
The two schools are scheduled to meet on the court in a few weeks, a matchup Wright is looking forward to.
“The schools are literally a five minute drive down the Parkway,” he said. “Just like Iowa and Iowa State, have that annual thing. Then you start building that interest.”
Open Mic
Hallman closed by giving Wright the floor. He used it to make three points.
First, support minority media in the Twin Cities.
“We have a lot of increasing minority media in this town. Support them. They need it. It’s tough out here,” he said.
Second, go to games in person when you can, including at smaller schools.
“There’s a lot of affordable ways to go support a team around town,” he said, pointing specifically to MIAC schools with growing minority enrollment and rosters.
Third, and the one he clearly felt most strongly about, a message to other podcasters.
“You never know who is listening,” he said.
He described how Paul Allen came onto his show. Wright was not even following Allen on social media when Allen started commenting on his posts and eventually offered to appear. Allen got off a plane after a preseason game and was recording with Wright an hour later.
“He said, ‘I’m here for as long as you need me. Let’s go,’” Wright said.
He also described being recognized by a stranger at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a tournament that draws 300,000 people a day.
“Some dude come running down the hill. ‘Oh man, listen to the show.’ I had no idea,” he said. “So that’s the thing I’ll leave it on. If you do a podcast, put effort into it, because you think people aren’t listening. You never know who’s listening.”
Sports Done Wright is available wherever you get your podcasts.