(December 21, 2016) Roughly three weeks after walking across a stage to accept his college diploma, Blake Froling is walking into his new job. An STAA member, Froling has been hired as Sports Director at ESPN UP (Upper Peninsula) in Marquette, MI.
Though Froling graduated from Michigan State University just this month, he already has considerable broadcasting experience. In addition to the reps he earned in East Lansing, Froling broadcast hundreds of games while in high school. Even with his vast experience, Froling wasn’t sure he was qualified for the Marquette job.
“I decided to give it a shot but didn’t really think I’d actually get the position,” he says.
At ESPN UP, Froling replaces fellow STAA member Ryan Myrehn who left for another opportunity. In fact, Froling is the third consecutive STAA member to hold the Sports Director position at the Marquette station.
Incredible is the word Froling uses to describe the experience he will gain at ESPN UP. “I get to host my own sports talk show everyday as well as do play-by-play, which is my main career focus. None of the other jobs I applied for offered this much hands-on experience for someone like me right out of college.”
STAA members learned of the ESPN UP opening via email in early October, one month before it was posted on the STAA job board. However, it is other parts of his STAA membership that Froling credits for helping him land the job. “The emails regarding improving my cover letters and just how to find a job in general have been extremely helpful and I think that might be why I got the job,” he says. “[ESPN UP President Tom Mogush] also said having STAA next to my name was a big boost for me.”
“It’s exactly what I want to do in my career and I get to do it right away,” Froling smiles.
(Visit Blake’s website).