Chris Cooper

UCFB Manchester

Course Leader

BA (Hons) Sports Business and Sports Broadcasting

Chris has worked in professional broadcast media since graduating from the University of Exeter, but is also a qualified university lecture, having first started teaching in Leeds more than 20 years ago. He started as a music presenter at Plymouth Sound before adding sport and news to his portfolio and then moved to Bradford as sports editor of the local radio station Pennine Radio (later The Pulse). During this time he also worked part-time at Yorkshire Television as a football commentator and reporter.

From there he had a similar position at Century (later Real) Radio in Manchester, which was the largest radio station outside of London covering the same footprint as Granada TV. Then it was onto talkSPORT as a presenter and commentator (including the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul) and then back to Century in the North West and North East commentating on Manchester United and then Sunderland games before moving to Sky, initially as a Senior Producer and Presenter at Sky Sports News Radio.

TV work for Sky started simultaneously, mainly as a reporter on Soccer Saturday plus covering cricket and rugby league for Sky Sports News. It was during this time that he was approached by UCFB and started initially part-time while also working for BBC local radio, mainly Humberside plus occasionally Devon, commentating on his beloved Plymouth Argyle when they’re in the north. He keeps his hand in too with commentating on EFL games for Sky Sports on their red button service.

He’s also an accomplished event host, anything from the opening of a new stand at Valley Parade in front of the late Queen and Prince Phillips to a club trophy night. Amazingly he does have some spare time, which he largely dedicates to his award winning (he’ll show you the certificates) fruit and vegetables on his allotments.