Charlie Neal started his broadcast career as a radio disc jockey in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pa. He broke into television as a sports anchor in Washington DC. From there he worked in Philadelphia, Detroit, and New York City. While working in Detroit, he met Bob Johnson, who was in the process of starting Black Entertainment Television.
His association with BET started in 1980 and for 24 years he was the voice of sports on the network, which included black college athletics, talk shows and coverage of all major sporting events, from Heavyweight Championship boxing to the Superbowl. Neal also worked for CBS Sports announcing college football, basketball, track & field, and gymnastics.
Neal continued to cover sports for BET while also doubling up with assignments from Turner Sports which included the first ever Goodwill Games in Moscow. He hosted the NBA halftime shows for TNT along with play-by play assignments on basketball, gymnastics, and track & field.
When BET decided to drop sports from its programming, the timing seemed right, as ESPNU was being launched, and he immediately landed a position with the World-Wide Leader. Neal actually broadcast the first-ever football game on ESPNU in 2005. He has handled numerous assignments for the network from the traditional sports to bowling and tennis.
He has been a fixture for the past decade at the MEAC Basketball Tournament, announcing both the women and men’s first round, quarterfinal and semifinal contests, along with hosting the MEAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
For the last two seasons, Neal co-hosted MEAC Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Coca-Cola, on the MEAC Digital Network. In addition, he serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for HBCU-GO T.V. Sports.
Along the way he has worked with some of the top names in sports including James Brown, Lem Barney, Doug Williams, Bernie Bickerstaff, and Sam Jones, just to name a few.
Neal has announced many historic moments, including legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinsons game in which he broke Bear Bryant’s record of 323 wins in 1985.
Neal has been recognized for his contribution to black college athletics by being inducted into the MEAC, CIAA and Black College Football Halls of Fame. He currently serves as chairman of the selection committee for the Black College Football Hall of Fame.