Mark Johnson, voice of CU football, talks about rodeo injury, faith and his disabled son Jake

Mark Johnson is back in the booth for his third decade as CU's live commentator, but it will be a while before he's back in the saddle.

The cowboy, who wears many hats as a sports reporter, outdoorsman and pastor, suffered a broken pelvis during a team roping practice a month ago. The incident occurred on July 30, Johnson's 57th birthday, and he has been in slow rehab since then.

“The pommel of the saddle hit my pelvic bone and cracked my pelvis,” Johnson said. “They call it the open book – it just burst wide open. My first thought was, 'That didn't feel good.' My second thought was, 'I lost my legs,' which meant I couldn't ride because I couldn't hold onto the horse anymore. So I pushed off, went down and broke a couple of ribs on my right side.”

He is now back on his feet, albeit with the help of a walker or crutches. Johnson has titanium screws and a plate in his pelvis, and doctors tell him it will be a few weeks before he can walk on his own again, four months before he can get back on a horse, and about 10 months before he can start team roping again.

Johnson, who competes in local amateur jackpot rodeos, can't wait to get back into heading and heeling. He has been competing in the sport for about five years, and in his last competition before his injury, he took third place at the Park County Fair in Fairplay.

“After my accident, several friends and acquaintances advised me not to stop team roping,” Johnson says with a laugh, “but I definitely plan to start again when the doctors give me the go-ahead.”

That's just how Johnson is, a man who has been influenced by a Western lifestyle since his childhood on a farm in North Dakota.

Johnson played a few years of college basketball at Minot State before undergoing career-ending back surgery. He eventually graduated from the University of North Dakota. For the past 18 years, he has lived on a 5-acre property in Evergreen, where he keeps three horses – Amigo, Josey Wales and Rose.

He and his wife, Susan — Miss North Dakota 1989 — are passionate about their Christian faith, and Johnson is a frequent speaker at religious conferences, churches and men's groups in the area. And when he's not emceeing (he's also the voice of the CU men's basketball team), rodeoing or sharing the gospel, he can be found bird hunting and fly fishing.

“We came to Colorado 20 years ago and fell in love with the city and everything it represents,” Johnson said. “When I have my off-season and my outdoor activities and my involvement with horses, team roping is a great hobby for me that balances me out. Because once we get to August, football starts and I'm hyper-focused on football and basketball for eight months.”

Johnson also has three adult children, one of whom, 27-year-old Jake, lives with him and his wife. Jake was born with hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal buildup of fluid in the brain. This resulted in brain damage at birth, and Johnson says his son's health struggles throughout his life changed his family's perspective and gratitude.

“I'm a very religious person,” Johnson said, “… and Jake is at the heart of that because we needed guidance and help in raising him, in guiding him, in caring for him, and in developing the patience and great faith that goes with that.”

While Johnson continues to rely on that belief in all aspects of his life, he also hasn't lost faith that the Buffaloes can accomplish something special under new head coach Deion Sanders. Johnson points out that in his first two decades behind the microphone of CU football, there was only one magical season, the 2016 “Rise is Real” season that culminated with 10 wins and a Pac-12 South title.