In the company of his close friends and family, Cuyler Frank called sports games in his native Navajo. He never thought an activity he pursued for enjoyment would one day make him a living piece of history.
In September 2005, Frank, a New Mexico State University alumnus, broadcast the nation's first radio play-by-play in Navajo for an NCAA Division 1 football game while a student at NMSU. In May 2026, the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) inducted him for his diligent work preserving the Navajo language.
"I really didn't expect this to happen," Frank said. "I just wanted to call games and be out there."
The honor, however, arrived alongside grief. Shortly after Frank's induction, his mother died, making this moment as heavy as it was celebratory.
"At first, I was happy about the induction. I told her, 'Mom, I made the Hall of Fame,'" he said. "But as she started to become more ill, the recognition became something I kind of pushed aside like everything else in my life that I had going on."
Although the Hall of Fame took a back seat, Frank said the moment felt like it cemented his life's work. Still, for him, it was always about the language itself, never about the accolades that could come with it.
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-alumnus-and-historic-navajo-broadcaster-inducted-into--hall-of-fame-/s/3cdab78e-0a4c-4bc9-95f3-bef95a01ce46
