When it comes to Katy football, Bill Haskett just might have the best seat in the house. He’s the public address announcer for Tiger home games at Legacy and Rhodes stadiums.

It takes a lot of work to be a successful announcer. Haskett arrives at the stadium one and half hours before kickoff. There, he reviews player rosters and commercial scripts he will be reading during the game. He said it helps to have a microphone presence. Don’t get too close to, or too far from, the microphone. It also helps to have a love for the game, he said.

Having poise in the press box is also important. Haskett recalled once having a spotter who would “go ballistic” when the Tigers scored a touchdown. Haskett recalled he had to keep the microphone turned off between plays for that reason. Today, he works with Marc Jankowski, who’s involved in Katy real estate. Jankowski helps Haskett identify who made the play, or if there’s a penalty flag on the field somewhere.

Even though both men remained poised during Katy’s win over Atascocita Friday night at Legacy Stadium, Haskett turned on the microphone only when he has something to say after a play.

“I try to be factual and try not to be biased,” Hackett said. “I went to an announcing school in Houston ISD one year. The guy said, you’re not there to be a cheerleader. The cheerleaders are out there on the field. Just tell them what it is. You might be for a team, but you try not to show that.”

Debbie Decker, the district’s athletics director, said Haskett’s love for the kids shines through in his work.

“He takes his job as public address very seriously,” Decker said. “He’s always well prepared. He’s just a pleasure to work with.”

Haskett’s ties to Katy football go back to the program’s beginning. He said his father was the quarterback of the first Tiger team, in 1939.

“They were 1-8 or something like that,” Haskett said. “The coach had to go to the rice fields, and recruit the players off the tractors. It was a rough start, but they got better.”

Haskett himself didn’t play football. He played cornet in the band instead. He graduated in 1961 and remembers Katy’s first state championship team, in 1959.

“I was there, certainly,” Haskett said. “It was just unreal. We just played some teams that had talent, but our team just pulled together and did a great job.”

The state title game was played in Brownwood, which is 275 miles northwest of Katy. Haskett recalled that everyone turned out the lights when leaving town to go to the game.

After graduating from Katy, Haskett attended and graduated from Sam Houston State University. He met and married his wife, Cindy, and got involved in education as a career. He began teaching in 1967 and helped keep sports statistics for his school’s teams, and even occasionally performed public address duties.

Haskett returned to Katy ISD in 1978. He became Katy High School principal in 1981.

Mike Johnston, the coach who led the Tiger turnaround and for whom the Legacy Stadium field is named, said the turnaround never would’ve happened without Haskett. Johnston said Haskett helped secure facilities and equipment for Tiger student-athletes.

“He was my savior,” Johnston said. “It was rough the first four seasons.”

The Tigers struggled in the first years of the Johnston era. Katy won only eight games those first four seasons, 1982-85. Haskett described that time as pretty sad.

“Mike was under a lot of criticism, a lot of armchair people telling them how to do things,” Haskett said. “But he turned things around, got kids’ attention, and got a good program going.”

Under Johnston, the Tigers won state championships in in 1997, 2000 and 2003. Gary Joseph served as defensive coordinator under Johnston before taking over as head coach in 2004. Under Joseph, the Tigers won state championships in 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015 and 2020.

Joseph said Haskett, as principal, worked with Johnston and the other coaches to improve the athletics program, including helping in the hiring of coaches.

“He’s a great man,” Joseph said of Haskett. “I can’t say enough about the class guy he is. He’s got a heck of a wife, Cindy. She’s been beside him ever since I’ve known him. I appreciate him, and he knows that. He does the public address for our games, and I’m proud of him for doing that.”

Haskett has seen all nine Tiger state championship football teams, all as a fan and most of them as public address announcer. Yet perhaps Haskett’s most meaningful call came in 1999, and had nothing to do with championships.

That year, Haskett recalled, Katy honored the members of its first football team. Haskett introduced them to the crowd, and he got to introduce his father, then in a wheelchair after having a leg amputated.

“It was very special,” Haskett said.

Haskett said he doesn’t remember precisely when he began as Voice of the Tigers. But he’s been at it for decades now. On occasion, he serves as the voice of other Katy ISD programs. It depends on scheduling and availability.

Decker said the district has a crew of announcers and other game support personnel, such as ticket takers, scoreboard operators, and so forth. At times, someone cannot work a particular game. Haskett often steps up at such times. On Thursday night, and again on Saturday, he operated the stadium scoreboard.

“He’s always one of the first to step up,” Decker said.

Bill and Cindy Haskett both have stepped up. Bill retired as principal in 1996 and served as community involvement and special projects. He retired from the district in 2005. Cindy continues to serve as a substitute teacher, including at the new junior high school the district named in their honor in February.