(August 26, 2015) A summer spent crisscrossing the country in his car has led to a new job for Curt Lowe. An STAA member since 2010, Lowe has joined ESPN Williamsport and WWGE-AM 1400 in Pennsylvania as a play-by-play broadcaster and account executive.
The job also fulfills a goal of Lowe’s to broadcast NCAA Division I sports. “It allows me to be a Division 1 play-by-play announcer with the opportunity for advancement at the D1 level,” says Lowe. “I’ll start doing St. Francis women’s basketball and softball. The stations also do high school sports D2 and D3 sports as well.”
Lowe’s summer sojourn started in early June when he left his home in Colorado and drove to North Carolina for STAA’s One Day Ticket to Sportscasting Success seminar. After that, he made stops in South Carolina and Florida to see friends and visit employers before heading back to Colorado. Two months and one new car later, it was back East for the job in Williamsport.
One unique thing that Lowe to help land the ESPN position was to call even though the position description clearly stated ‘no calls please.’ “I called because I wanted the job and wasn’t satisfied waiting for them to call me,” Lowe says. “I applied for the job two years ago and got a form letter. I wasn’t going that route again. Especially when sales is MAJOR component of the job, I believe in following-up. Had I not, I wouldn’t have gotten the job. Plus, good sales people don’t get deterred at the first no.”
Lowe’s radio sales experience is extensive, having been an account executive at stations in Colorado, Kansas, Iowa and Florida. Most recently, Lowe sold advertising for Townsquare Media in Grand Junction and broadcast games for Colorado School of Mines.
Another key move by Lowe in his pursuit of the Williamsport position was getting a letter of recommendation from a friend who is on the Board of Trustees at Florida State University. It is all part of Lowe’s sportscasting job market strategy.
“Be creative, be aggressive, make good contacts and like Jimmy V said, ‘Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up’ because the opportunities are out there. Also, don’t be afraid to sell advertising. It’s not rocket science. Many doors will open and you’ll be invaluable if you can generate revenue.”
(Visit Curt’s STAA Talent Page).