Just two days before the start of "The Line," when the Palestra takes center stage on Penn's campus, the University announced that Rich Kahn will take over the public address duties for "college basketball's most historic gym."
Kahn will be replacing the late John McAdams, who passed away in June. McAdams served as the Palestra's public address announcer for 24 years.
"Rich has large shoes to fill," athletic director Steve Bilsky said in a press release. "Obviously, John McAdams was a Philadelphia icon and a centerpiece of the Palestra experience for so many years and so many people."
Kahn comes to the Palestra with years of experience, having been the stadium voice of the New York Jets from 1983-2002 and of the New York Islanders from 1982-85.
Most recently, he served as a PA announcer for the New Jersey Nets and Hofstra.
Having lived in the Philadelphia area for the past 10 years, Kahn started to look into the possibility of working at the Palestra after McAdams' passing.
"I knew there was availability, and it seemed like a great opportunity," he said. "It was obviously something that I would enjoy."
The audition process began in late August, and since then, Kahn began covering events on Penn's campus.
Kahn can be heard at sprint football games and field hockey and soccer matches.
"As I started to do more games, I got to know everyone, and the comfort level grew over time," Kahn said. He attributed winning the job at the Palestra to the time he had spent calling games in the past several weeks.
Following in the footsteps of the legendary McAdams, who worked at several other Penn sports, including baseball, soccer and lacrosse, Kahn plans to continue working at Penn venues other than just the Palestra.
He will be at the microphone for all men's and women's basketball games and Big 5 contests.
Even with all of his experience at the professional level, Kahn stressed that Big 5 basketball ranks "right up there with anything I've ever done."
He would like to work at Penn for as long as possible, though matching McAdams' 24-year stint could prove rather difficult.
"My philosophy is to take it one year at a time, and we'll see how it goes," said Kahn. "Hopefully it's mutually beneficial."
Bilsky seemed confident that Kahn would be up to the challenge.
"Our staff worked hard to find someone whom they thought could continue John's legacy," he said. "I agree with their confidence in the professionalism that Rich will bring to this position."
