In the company of his close friends and family, Cuyler Frank called sports games in his native Navajo language. 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.
Long before Frank carried his voice into NAIAHF history, it was simply a way for him to stay grounded. In the early 2000s, Frank attended NMSU with the goal of keeping culture close. On campus, Frank dedicated a portion of his time to helping develop the American Indian Program and made sure he and his peers spoke Navajo often.
At that time, I was always on campus, and I always spoke the language,” Frank, the general manager at KCZY-FM radio, said. “Coming fresh off ‘the rez’ and being away at college, I took a lot of pride in who I was and my identity as Navajo.”
Other students who spoke Navajo told Frank that hearing their native tongue spoken so far from home made NMSU feel more familiar. Because of this, another student had an opportunity for him.
“One of the students there had told me that they were looking for someone who could speak Navajo in the agricultural communications department,” he said.
In what was then the agricultural communications department, Frank recorded audio and video in Navajo for how-to videos on handling cattle and managing sheep. At the time, then-athletic director McKinley Boston and football coach Hal overheard Frank recording audio in his native tongue.
“They asked, ‘What language is that?’ I said, ‘That's the Navajo language.’ And that's when coach Mumme became fascinated with it,” Frank said. “Then they asked if I could broadcast football games in Navajo.”
In 2005, when Frank became the first person to announce an NCAA Division I college football game in Navajo, he never realized it would lead to a lifelong inspiration for Indigenous people.
“When I first called that game, it was a huge moment for me. I never thought that it would happen. It was like a lottery ticket,” he remarked.
But stepping up to the microphone wasn't an entirely seamless journey. Because many sports terms did not translate directly into Navajo, Frank would study broadcasters like Jack Nixon, a longtime voice of Aggie football and basketball. Using this, he'd break down play-by-play dynamics and translate these fast-paced calls into Navajo. When he ran into a phrase he couldn't quite translate, he turned to friends, family, and even strangers for help.
When Frank sat in the broadcasting booth, he slipped his headphones on and connected to the airwaves, where an unfamiliar voice waited at the other end. Though they hadn’t met in person, this key figure behind the audio console helped Frank with his Navajo sports terminology many times before games.
"We would talk now and again. I'd ask him if I'm saying a term correctly, and he would give me feedback,” Frank said.
About a decade later, in 2018, Frank began his job at KCZY radio at Navajo Technical University (NTU) where he heard a very familiar voice in a colleague, Glenn King.
"I was doing ads for the university, working sometimes at the radio station," he added. "I met him, and we were talking one day, and he said, 'Did you work at NMSU?' I said, 'Yeah.' And then he looks at me. I say, 'I recognize your voice. And he said, 'I recognize yours too, you're that kid that called from Las Cruces.'"
From that moment on, the two were inseparable. From hosting a radio station to calling sports together all in Navajo, Frank and King became pillars for keeping the Navajo language in the homes and classrooms across the region.
This dedication and partnership culminated early this summer when Frank earned national recognition for his influential radio broadcasting and became a renowned Navajo language radio broadcaster.
“I'm grateful for the nomination to be named among other great Native Athletes and stars. It's something very honorable to achieve," he said. "But I still have a lot to do to make an impact in my community and, most importantly, sustain my language for future generations.”
Today, Frank channels that mindset into guiding Native youth as they navigate their own paths, encouraging them to hold onto their cultural roots whether they choose to stay at home or leave for college. Looking back on where his own journey began, Frank remains rooted in his alma mater.
“When I hear students going to New Mexico State University from out here from the community, it makes me happy," he said. “I would do it all again, because the NMSU Aggies and everything that I've learned there and the experiences that I had are by far the best in my life. And being where I am now, I think I made the best choice."
Frank attributes his success to his dedication and determination to always be prideful in his culture, a commitment he passes down to his students.
“What opened the doors for me is speaking my language and being who I am and staying true to that,” he added. “It doesn't matter what community you're from, if it's Navajo, if it's Pueblo, if it's Apache, staying true to yourself and knowing your culture and knowing your heart and that you are of a Native American background. It goes further than just trying to be someone else."
Frank’s message to the next generation carries a heavy urgency today. While speaking his native tongue opened doors for his career and success today, the reality is that fewer young people inherit that same linguistic key.
A 2011-2012 New Mexico Public Education Department report covering 3,007 Navajo students across two districts showed that while families spoke the language at home, 45% were classified as "Non-Navajo Proficient," 20% as "Limited Navajo Proficient," and only 5% of students were labeled "Fluent Navajo Proficient."
In 2021, UNESCO designated the Navajo language as “vulnerable,” even though over 170,000 people still speak it.
Within that statistical gap, Frank’s life’s work takes place. Every play he calls and phrase he translates offers young listeners a chance to hear their language in a modern world.
“Whatever it is in this world, my purpose was to be there for these students. I encourage them to do more than I've done," he said. “If you're not speaking the language, understand it and learn it as much as you can, because that's what our identity is.”
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CUTLINE: From left: Cuyler Frank, NMSU alumnus, NTU's KCZY radio station general manager and 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, prepares to call a football game in Navajo in Shiprock, New Mexico, and Frank sits courtside at a basketball game at NMSU Pan American Center in 2005 where he called the game in Navajo for the first time. (Photo courtesy Cuyler Frank)
CUTLINE: From left: Jack Nixon, long-time NMSU radio broadcaster also known as the “Voice of the Aggies,” before he retired, and Cuyler Frank, an NMSU alumnus, NTU's KCZY radio station general manager and 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame inductee. (Photo courtesy Cuyler Frank)
CUTLINE: From left: Glenn King, KCZY radio host sits next to long-time friend and colleague Cuyler Frank, an NMSU alumnus, NTU's KCZY radio station general manager and 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame inductee before they call a football game in the Navajo language. (Photo courtesy Cuyler Frank)
CUTLINE: From left: Cuyler Frank, an NMSU alumnus, NTU's KCZY radio station general manager and 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, calls an NMSU football game alongside his son, CurtBen Frank, who provides color commentary for the game. (Photo courtesy Cuyler Frank)
CUTLINE: Cuyler Frank, NMSU alumnus, NTU's KCZY radio station general manager and 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, prepares to call a football game in Navajo in Shiprock, New Mexico, (Photo courtesy Cuyler Frank)
CUTLINE: Cuyler Frank, NMSU alumnus, NTU's KCZY radio station general manager and 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame inductee sits courtside at a basketball game at NMSU Pan American Center in 2005, where he called the game in Navajo for the first time. (Photo courtesy Cuyler Frank)