One time, I was working with a radio station owner to find a new sports director. The application instructions provided a two-week window in which folks could apply. On the second day, an application came in that blew away the employer. That applicant was hired before the two-week application window had even expired.
There is an advantage to being among the first to apply for a job.
Here are three reasons to submit your application early:
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A sportscaster friend of mine was telling me that when he graduated college ten years ago, he envisioned earning a six-figure salary that would allow him to own a big house, drive a nice sports car, travel to exotic island destinations at least every other year and allow his wife to not work.
Today, he’s earning close to the six-figure sportscasting salary he desired. His home, while not as large as he would like, is modest and comfortable. Both of the family cars are sedans with over 100,000 miles. The last family vacation they took was to Six Flags America three years ago, and his wife works full-time.
He’s happy. He’s comfortable and he’s grateful for his sports broadcasting career. He just wishes he knew at 22 what he knows at 32 so his expectations would have been more reasonable.
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Recently, I heard from a young guy who is doing high school and small college play-by-play. He aspires to one day be the voice of a pro team, but he’s concerned with the amount of job market competition.
“I am really dedicated to becoming a pro broadcaster, but it’s a bit intimidating to hear how many people are applying to jobs nowadays,” he shared with me. “I get a bit anxious.”
Totally understandable and not at all uncommon. Keep in mind, though, that you control your future. Despite your concern, keep taking steps towards your goals. Productivity decreases anxiety.
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A sportscaster friend of mine recently shared his grand plan with me to launch a podcast.
He couldn’t have been more fired up. He was going to build a program that would draw tens of thousands of listeners each week, earn thousands of dollars of advertising and catapult him to a sports talk radio career. His enthusiasm was contagious. He had me really believing he was going to do it.
One month later, he quit. Only a handful of people had checked out his podcast. None of them listened for more than a few minutes and he wasn’t able to sell any advertising.
You can’t give birth to an adult. Whatever your sportscasting career goals, they aren’t going to happen overnight.
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A story was published years ago about former Montana Grizzlies voice Mick Holien. It talked about how Mick was selling a bunch of memorabilia he collected over his 31 seasons as the Voice of the Griz.
The story got me to thinking about my favorite memories from my sports broadcasting career. My two favorites aren’t even about on-the-air stuff.
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The best coaches and trainers know that how an athlete spends their off season is vital to preparing for a successful next season. If you use the time off to binge Netflix and eat donuts, you’re going to have problems when preseason begins.
As a broadcaster, how you spend the slowest part of your year will either motivate you to achieve bigger goals or perpetuate a cycle of stagnation.
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A sportscaster friend of mine shared with me something that has turned around his career: honest self-evaluation.
More than reading books. More than attending seminars. More than studying other sportscasters, honest self-evaluation has done more than anything to impact this guy’s career.
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It’s been five years since we published our list of the top five sports broadcasting schools in the U.S. It’s been nine years since our initial Top 20 ranking in 2013.
It’s time to update the list.
The list of top sports broadcasting schools has remained largely the same over the past decade. There are some new additions, and some schools have risen or fallen slightly. Still, though, largely the same.
Excellence is rooted in consistency.
1. Quality instruction
The best instructors are those who are, or have been, sports broadcasters.
2. Campus radio and/or TV stations
Having a place to get reps is mandatory. A perk of Big 10, SEC and ACC schools is being in conferences whose TV networks provide professional-quality broadcast opportunities for students.
3. Alumni involvement
The best schools have alumni who return to campus to mentor, teach, and help graduates get jobs.
Read our 2017 ranking of the Top 5 sports broadcasting schools for more tips on what to look for when choosing a good one.
Schools are listed in alphabetical order.
Schools in the Big Ten, SEC and ACC are worth an additional look, regardless of their placement on our lists. The reason, as mentioned at the top of this page, is because of the relationships they have with their respective conference broadcast networks. Each of the three conferences streams broadcasts produced entirely by students, including the on-air talent.
The games are in big-time settings and the production quality is high. Everyone steps their game up and it looks great on a demo reel.
Since the webcasts reflect the quality of each school’s sports broadcasting curriculum, these schools generally provide excellent classroom instruction.
These schools take the education of sports broadcasters seriously enough that they’ve created majors, or at least sports media concentrations, that are more specialized than a general broadcasting major.
Schools are listed in alphabetical order.
Geography
You can’t put a price on happiness. Choose to live someplace you are going to enjoy.
Cost
Not every school is going to be in everyone’s budget. Don’t sweat it, though. Read on . . .
You can launch a successful sports broadcasting career from anywhere. Though a ton of sportscasters have graduated from Syracuse, their number is far surpassed by sportscasters who went elsewhere.
Your success will depend upon the degree to which you take advantage of the opportunities provided to you. If you are at a school where the quality of instruction is less, seek outside mentors. If you aren’t getting the reps you want, create your own opportunities doing webcasts of local high school and small college games.
Success will depend most upon the opportunities you create for yourself beyond the school curriculum, having mentors to critique your work and what you do with the opportunities you are given.
The most successful sportscasters are the most invested — the most disciplined and hard working.
We’ve advised hundreds of students — and parents of students — about what colleges might be best for them.
Do you have questions or comments? Please leave them below. I enjoy helping!
Jon Chelesnik,
Owner, STAA
Most job applicants feel qualified for the jobs for which they apply. Nearly as many are confident they will get it. On the occasions when they don’t, applicants might feel emotions ranging from disappointment and frustration to downright disbelief. How can this employer be so short-sighted as to not see my greatness?
Those emotions are fine. They’re understandable. I have felt some of them myself in the job market. Keep them to yourself.
Expressing your disappointment to the employer who doesn’t hire you burns bridges.
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A sports broadcaster interviewed for a play-by-play job at a university. The process included meetings with the athletic director, assistant AD, marketing staff and coaches of the various sports the person would be covering.
This individual was nailing the interviews – making a great impression in each of them. He was feeling good about his chances for getting the job when he was told there was one more coach to meet. He was warned, “This one is going to be tough to impress.”
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