Benjamin Hupke was born in Sioux City Iowa. He is a Washington High School (Cherokee) graduate, and a 1990 Wartburg College alum.
At a young age it was evident Ben took to being an athlete with success. He began wrestling as an eight-year-old. “Ben was drawn to wrestling because of his intensity and desire for competition,” his father Leo recalls.
Ben was a multi-sport athlete throughout high school. He competed in Baseball, Football, Golf, Track and Wrestling.
His high-school conference, the Lakes Conference featured teams like Sheldon, Spencer, Estherville, and Emmetsburg. The Lakes Conference was the dominant powerhouse in gutsy Class 2A Iowa wrestling during the 1970’s and 80’s. Incidentally, Hupke prepped at the time when Tom and Terry Brands were starting their successful careers at Sheldon High School. Other notable wrestlers went on to successful Division I career at the University of Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.
four-sport letter winner his junior and senior years of high-school, Hupke found statewide success on the mat twice qualifying and placing third as a senior. He later was recruited by the late Dick Walker at Division III powerhouse Wartburg College in Waverly Iowa. There Ben was a four-year letter winner.
Upon graduation, Hupke put his Mass Communication degree to work in the radio and television field. He left after several years to pursue a more lucrative career in business. However, the competitive fire and passion never went away and after several successful years in the insurance industry he got back to radio and sports broadcasting. His knowledge of sports and voice on the mic quickly opened doors at the local, state and national level.
Ben has worked for CISN (Des Moines) broadcasting the Iowa Girls High School State Wrestling Tournament. His talents further took him to broadcasting for ESPN and collegiate wrestling.
Hupke’s collegiate broadcast experience ranges from the National Wrestling Tournament to the National Duals. He also produced the weekly Brad Penrith Show during his stint as the “voice” of UNI Wrestling. Hupke’s also a broadcasting regular at one of the nation’s premier high-school wrestling tournaments, the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament.
“Ben’s exceptional pre-match preparation is his strength. Of course, he sounds great but he does great work in his pre-match interviews. He’s always very careful to dignify the athletes and coaches while doing what a broadcaster must, being honest.” Mike Allen, Hall of Fame NCAA & Iowa High School Wrestling Official
For three seasons Hupke served as the hold-by-hold voice for the University of Northern Iowa Wrestling Program. One of only three Division I program to consistently broadcast wrestling on the radio.
We hope that throughout the course of the season you enjoy the Don Bosco broadcasts.
All of the productions and commitment to its excellence are inspired and dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Hupke’s niece, Bailey Elizabeth Hupke.