By Jon Oglesby, Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games
CEDAR CITY, Utah (April 3, 2025) – The Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games, an outreach department of Southern Utah University, will create two internship positions for current SUU students to honor longtime contributors to the annual summer sports festival.
Thanks to the generosity of the Rich and Linda Wilson Family, the SUU department will create a media relations internship in the name of longtime Utah sportscaster Bill Marcroft, who served as an advocate and announcer for the Summer Games and its ‘Opening Ceremony’ event. The position naming Marcroft will be known as the ‘Bill Marcroft Media Relations Internship’. In addition, LHM USG will create an operations internship position to honor longtime USG sport director and staff member Bob Tate, titled the ‘Bob Tate Operations Internship’.
Rich Wilson was a co-founder of the Utah Summer Games. He presided over the creation and growth of the event, building one of the nation’s premier amateur sports festivals. In addition, Wilson served as a leading voice in the creation of the National Congress of State Games, unifying various state games under a common umbrella. A noted businessman and philanthropist, he and his wife, Linda, actively support a variety of causes on the Southern Utah University campus and in the Cedar City community.
Wilson noted his deep appreciation for the respective talents of Marcroft and Tate as the motivation behind his family’s gift, along with preserving their legacies with the Summer Games programming.
“I am deeply appreciative of the work of both Bill Marcroft and Bob Tate, and what it’s meant to the legacy of the Utah Summer Games,” said Wilson. “Both of these men had the vision for what the Games are and what they could become, and spent countless hours serving the athletes, our community, and the state. Their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families deserves to be recognized.”
Bill Marcroft was an early advocate for the Utah Summer Games, serving as the longtime voice of the Opening Ceremony event. In his role as a television sports anchor and radio voice in Utah, Marcroft routinely reported on the Games, telling the stories of athletes in the formative years of the event. He also served as the longtime television and radio voice for the University of Utah Athletic Department, in addition to numerous charitable commitments. Marcroft was awarded an honorary PhD from Southern Utah University in 2017 for his work with the Utah Summer Games, along with receiving a ‘Distinguished Service Award’ from the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. He also received a ‘Key to the City’ from Cedar City for his work in promoting the Utah Summer Games.
“Dad had such a love for the Utah Summer Games because they represented and supported values that he prized so dearly- specifically, inclusivity and diversity,” said Marc Marcroft, son of Bill. “He believed that sports and athletic competition are for everyone, and that the Summer Games uniquely celebrate the participation of a wide range of athletes and athletic abilities. He would have been honored to have his name associated with this on-going internship and our family sincerely appreciates it as well.”
Bob Tate spent 37 years serving the Utah Summer Games in many capacities, along with serving as the Parks and Recreation Director for both Cedar City and Logan City. In a career that spanned 44 years before his passing in 2023, Tate also served a term as president of the Utah Recreation and Parks Association. For his work, he was inducted into the ‘Hall of Honor’ for the Utah Summer Games.
“On behalf of our family, we want to thank Rich Wilson and all the amazing people associated with the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games,” said Jesse Tate, son of Bob Tate. “The Games have always been a way for the communities in Utah to come together. Helping students continue to grow and find a love of sports and recreation would bring my dad so much joy. Thank you again for this wonderful initiative to help memorialize his legacy and contribution.”
The ‘Bill Marcroft Media Relations Internship’ will be awarded to Kale Nelson, a Communications major with an emphasis in Sports Communication from Las Vegas, while the ‘Bob Tate Operations Internship’ will be awarded to Brynlee Clarke, an Accounting major from Cedar City. Both served as student workers for the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games in 2024, contributing to improvements in media coverage, athlete services, and business operations.
“We are so incredibly grateful to Rich and Linda Wilson for their continued stewardship and support of Southern Utah University and the Utah Summer Games, particularly their desire to recognize two pillars of our proud past in Bill Marcroft and Bob Tate,” said Jon Oglesby, Executive Director of the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games. “Both Mr. Marcroft and Mr. Tate helped carry the torch for the ‘State Games’ movement in Utah, pouring their respective talents into this organization and this university. It is wonderful to see their contributions and legacies celebrated in such an impactful way, thanks to the generosity of Rich and Linda Wilson.”
Registration is now open for the 2025 Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games at utahsummergames.org. The ‘Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games Opening Ceremony, Presented by State Bank of Southern Utah’ is scheduled for Friday, June 6 at Eccles Coliseum.