Tennessee's first Internet sports station!
Bartlett, Tennessee
The KPTR.com "Skybox Crew"
| Ken Opperman
A native of East Saint Louis, Illinois, Ken has supported Panther athletics since moving to Bartlett in the mid-1980's. He works as an intermodal transportation specialist in Memphis. Ken and his wife Bev have two children, Eric and Melissa. Eric and Melissa are both graduates of BHS. Eric is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University and Melissa is a student at Austin Peay State University. |
Mike Cooper
A native of Paducah, Kentucky, Mike has supported Panther athletics for years. He is a stockbroker in Memphis and is also a youth and music minister. Mike and his wife Cona have four children: Matthew and Jennifer, both graduates of Bartlett, and Vanya and Dima who are current students at BHS. Matthew is a University of Memphis graduate and Jennifer is a Senior at The University of Memphis. |
| Eric Opperman
A 2000 graduate of BHS, Eric was a member of Bartlett's award-winning Knowledge Bowl program, and he was the first Sports Information Director for the school. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 2004, with a degree in Mass Communications. Eric is now working at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee as the Sports Information Director. Eric is the son of Skybox Crew member Ken Opperman. |
Matt Cooper
Matt is a 2000 graduate of BHS. While at Bartlett, he served as Co-Sports Information Director for three years. He graduated from the University of Memphis in 2005 with a degree in history. Matt is employed by the Shelby County School System and is an Assistant Basketball Coach at Bartlett High School. In addition to this, he is the Director of Broadcast Operations for KPTR.com/WVWT/com/KTSQ.com and The SkyBox Broadcasting International Network. Matt is the son of Skybox Crew member Mike Cooper. |
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Why the "Skybox Crew?" One question we've heard through the years is "Why are you called the Skybox Crew?" In the late 1980's when Ken started attending nearly every Panther home football game, he quickly found a perch on the top row at the 22 yard line, and he and Eric sat there for years. When The Coopers moved back to Bartlett shortly before Matt and Eric started high school, they also began sitting in what Ken had begun calling "The Skybox." The tradition of finding a seat in the top row continued over to Panther basketball, as the Oppermans and Coopers became a fixture at the top row of the lower bleachers near the Bartlett bench nearly everywhere the Panthers played. One night when they were even more boisterous than usual, a fan a few rows in front of them turned around and said, "The Bartlett Skybox Crew is going wild tonight!" The name stuck, and it was only natural to keep it when KPTR.com began. (The top picture was taken during a Panther broadcast at The Kingdom of the Sun Basketball Tournament in Ocala, Florida in December of 2002.) (The bottom two pictures were taken in the Press Box at Auto Zone Park in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee where the Bartlett Sky Box Crew called the 2004 Tennessee "Spring Fling" Baseball Championships) Director of Broadcast Operations, Matthew Cooper
Executive Producer, Mike Cooper and Director of Broadcast Operations, Matthew Cooper
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KPTR.com: On the air EVERYWHERE, via the Internet!
***KPTR.com is not an affiliate of Bartlett High School or the Shelby County school system. Opinions, play-by-play, and other comments are only the views of the broadcasters.