One of Houston’s longest-serving sports anchors is putting money behind the next generation of journalists.
“While at Sam Houston, I saw firsthand some of the struggles students and families go through to pay for college,” McIlvoy said. “It’s not easy and has only grown more difficult to get by.”
McIlvoy said he had considered starting a scholarship for years, but the idea grew after longtime friends of his and his wife, Tammy, offered to contribute additional funds. Their support helped elevate it to an endowment.
“We are really excited about it, as it will now support deserving students for decades to come,” he said.
McIlvoy first caught the broadcasting bug at Bellaire High School, where his band director set up a TV studio inside the band hall. Students produced daily broadcasts for the school.
“This was practically unheard of at the time, and I was fascinated with it right from the start,” McIlvoy recalled.
In 1985, he enrolled at Sam Houston, where he studied broadcast journalism and played two years of baseball. After graduating in 1989, he launched his on-air career in Beaumont before moving to Dallas to anchor FOX Sports Net Southwest’s nightly regional sports report.
He returned to Houston in 2004 as KPRC 2’s sports director, making him the city’s longest-serving in that role. He has won four Lone Star Emmys and three Associated Press Top Sportscast honors. He also created KPRC 2’s Friday Football Frenzy in 2006.
McIlvoy said the rise of social media has dramatically changed how broadcasters work, requiring him to produce content for platforms beyond television. In the coming months, he plans to share his experience with aspiring journalists at a Sam Houston sports journalism camp.
“It’s an exciting time to be in sports journalism, and Sam Houston is taking it in a great direction,” he said.
McIlvoy isn’t the only longtime Houston journalist giving back this year. In August, retired ABC13 anchor Melanie Lawson announced $86,000 in journalism scholarship donations, splitting the money equally between the Houston Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists. Each $43,000 represents $1,000 for every year of her 43-year career.
The Houston donation will support local journalism students, while the national gift will fund scholarships across the country. Lawson announced the donations during a kickoff for the 2027 NABJ convention in Houston.