Chris Marlowe

Christian Marlowe (born September 28, 1951) is an American professional sportscaster who resides in Denver, Colorado.

He currently is the play-by-play announcer for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association in the fall, winter and spring, and in the summer he is a play-by-play announcer for the Association of Volleyball Professionals.

He is a former collegiate basketball and volleyball player and played on the US National Men's Volleyball Team.

He played beach volleyball extensively and won numerous tournaments on the Open beach circuit.

Marlowe was born in Los Angeles, California on September 28, 1951, and grew up in Pacific Palisades.

His father, Hugh Marlowe, was an actor and starred in over 30 movies.

His mother, K.T. Stevens, was also an actor, and appeared in 11 films.

Marlowe's maternal grandfather was the prolific film director Sam Wood, who was a three-time Academy Award nominee.

Marlowe grew up playing volleyball on the beach.

He was a two-sport standout at Palisades High School in Los Angeles, California, playing basketball and volleyball.

His Palisades High volleyball teams won three Los Angeles city championships.

He graduated in 1969, after being selected a high school All-American.

Marlowe was awarded an athletic scholarship at San Diego State University, where he played both basketball and volleyball.

San Diego State competed in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association in basketball.

Marlowe played guard, and was a steady and consistent performer.

He was selected Pacific Coast Athletic Association "Newcomer of the Year" in his freshman year.

By his senior year, he was on the PCAA All-Conference team.

Marlowe lettered all four seasons at SDSU, and set a school record by playing in 114 consecutive games.

In volleyball, San Diego State competed in the 18-team Southern California Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (SCIVA).

Volleyball was a new sport for the NCAA, having been first sanctioned as a championship sport in 1970, Marlowe's freshman year.

The competition in college volleyball was dominated by the schools of southern California.

The Aztecs of San Diego State were soon contenders for the national title, and Marlowe was one of the standouts on the team.

In his junior year of 1971-72, Marlowe's Aztecs stepped into the spotlight as one of the nation's top teams.

Marlowe was a starting outside hitter and setter for the Aztecs.

SDSU and UC Santa Barbara were considered the top favorites to win the national championship.

1972 was the first appearance by the Aztecs in the four team volleyball championship.

At the time the format of the tournament matched the format of a USVBA tournament, and consisted of a four-team preliminary round robin to determine seeding into a subsequent single-elimination championship bracket.

SDSU made the trip back to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where the 1972 national tournament was being held.

In round robin play, the Aztecs beat Ball State 2-1 (15-8, 6-15, 15–5) and handled UCLA 2-0 (15-13, 15–7) before losing to UCSB 0-2 (13-15, 10–15).

UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and SDSU all ended up with identical 2 - 1 records, but the Bruins earned the top position in the playoff seeding on the basis of points differential.

The Bruins easily beat Ball State in their semi-final.

In the other semi-final, SDSU was down 2 games to none before they bounced back and avenged their round robin loss, defeating UC Santa Barbara in five, 11–15, 13–15, 15–9, 15–11, 15-12 for a 3–2 win.

The win set up a championship final between San Diego State and the Bruins.

In the championship match SDSU jumped out 2 games to none, and with an 8–3 lead in the third appeared ready for a three-game sweep.

However, the Bruins rallied back to win it, 10–15, 9-15, 15–9, 15–10, 15–7.

UCLA had won their third consecutive national crown.

In his senior year, Marlowe was voted team captain.

California teams still dominated the national scene, and Long Beach State was the top ranked team and the favorite to win the title.

In the regional finals, San Diego State met defending national champion UCLA at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in a rematch of the 1972 national championship match.

He also was a captain of the US Men's volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.