Neil Price’s recent move from women’s basketball and baseball voice at the University of Kentucky to the football and men’s basketball job at Mississippi State is part of a developing trend:
Doing baseball and men’s or women’s basketball at a Power 5 can be a shortcut to a Power 5 football and men’s basketball job.
MSU is the third university in 12 months to hire a voice who was not doing football at their prior school.
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When I was hired for my first full-time radio job in McPherson, KS, I felt like I had just been named to the Pro Bowl. I was talented enough to be selected from among the other applicants, my future seemed endlessly bright and I was fired up.
Then came my first morning on the job. Queue the sound of squealing breaks.
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In the past, I’ve shared books I have read that I recommend for all sports broadcasters. Reading helps you learn more, faster.
Since publishing that list, I’ve received dozens of additional recommendations.
I’ve compiled the most common suggestions, with a few comments from our fellow broadcasters.
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It is becoming increasingly rare to find full-time work doing just play-by-play, TV anchoring and reporting or sports talk show hosting. You have to do more. If you are can’t, or are unwilling, you will die.
These 8 skills will help keep you relevant in the sportscasting industry:
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This Spring, I’ve devoted considerable time to evaluating the sports broadcasting work of college students across the country. It’s part of STAA’s annual Jim Nantz Award and All-America program. I enjoy seeing which college sports broadcasting programs are on the rise…and which ones are slipping.
Top colleges for sports broadcasting are strong in at least five of the following seven areas:
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Not long ago, a minor league baseball broadcaster started working for a new team. For as long as anyone could remember, the team had traditionally broadcast the pre-game national anthem. The new broadcaster’s practice, though, had always been to break for commercials during the anthem.
The station left the decision up to him. He asked my advice. Here is what I replied…
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Years ago, the program director of a sports radio station in Oklahoma City applied for the same position at a Los Angeles station. Management in LA loved everything about him – his knowledge of the format, his ability to manage personalities, his proficiency working with sales and marketing departments – all of it.
There was just one thing that gave management in LA reservation about hiring him – the huge jump in market size from where he was to where they were.
When the trepidation came up in the interview, the PD replied brilliantly.
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ESPN’s announcement last week of major layoffs prompted an email to me from the parent of a student sportscaster. She wrote, “I always thought that now is a good time to go into sports broadcasting/journalism as there are so many different channels on TV and social media. Should I be concerned that ESPN laid off 100 employees today?
The answer: no.
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Last weekend, I heard Jay Z’s song Izzo (H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-A). Immediately, a flood of memories came rushing to mind. When I was the host of ESPN Radio’s weekend overnights, Izzo was one of several songs my producer would play for me in the final 15 minutes before air.
Just as it is for athletes, music was part of our show’s pregame routine. (Jason McBride was our producer; Brian Fitzgerald our board-op. LOVED working with those guys). The songs simultaneously relaxed me and fired me up. Jason wouldn’t start playing them until all of our show prep was complete.
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A TV sportscaster contacted me one month into a two-year contract with a new employer. Things weren’t working out as he anticipated; He wanted out.
