STAA client Joel Godett has been named the Assistant Director of Broadcast and Multimedia services at Ball State University.
“We are extremely excited to add Joel to our staff,” Ball State athletics director Bill Scholl says. “He is a perfect fit for our situation. He will embrace the role of Voice of the Cardinals, while at the same time assist our media relations staff in increasing audio and video features to www.ballstatesports.com. While there will never be a replacement for Morry Mannies, we are transitioning to a new announcer and Joel will be excellent in that role. He will work closely with Jeff Weller on the radio broadcasts, and Jeff will have a key and significant role in our broadcast services as we move forward.”
Godett replaces Mannies, who retired after the 2011-12 academic year and after serving as the Voice of the Cardinals for 56 years.
“It’s a chance to do what I’ve set out for and strived for career wise,” says Godett. “There are 121 [major] college football jobs in America and to sit back and realize that, at least for now, I’ve got one, it’s one of those things you cherish. It’s kind of surreal when you think about it.”
STAA emailed the job lead to STAA Premier clients in mid-January, but Godett already knew about it.
In his role, Godett will serve as the play-by-play announcer for Ball State football and men’s basketball, while also serving as the television host for Cardinal Endzone and the Billy Taylor Show. In addition, Godett will help coordinate all other radio broadcasts for Ball State athletics. Godett will also serve as a part of the media relations staff and will increase the audio and video presence of Ball State athletics on www.ballstatesports.com.
“It is an amazing feeling to be joining the Ball State community,” Godett says. “It is never easy following in the footsteps of somebody who has been doing this for 56 years, but I look forward to the opportunity. Over the next several weeks and months I am excited to meet the Cardinals fan base and dive right into football season.”
One fringe benefit of the job is the Cardinal’s early season football schedule. They open with a conference game at home against Eastern Michigan that Godett says “is going to be nuts” and a trip to Clemson. There is also a home game against the University of South Florida, where Godett once called play-by-play for women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and soccer and volleyball.
Godett has been an STAA client for 14 months. “[STA CEO Jon Chelesnik] provides a good sounding board. To be able bounce ideas off someone with Jon’s experience and expertise about how to grow professionally in broadcasting and how to attack where you want to be and what you want to do is certainly a big help.”
Since February, Godett has served as the director of media relations and radio broadcaster for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball Club, an Advanced Class A affiliate of the Major League Baseball Texas Rangers. He served as the play-by-play announcer for all 140 games of the Carolina League season plus handled media relations duties for the team and produced monthly web television programing.
During the 2011-12 collegiate basketball season, Godett served as the play-by-play announcer for Fairleigh Dickinson’s NCAA Division I men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams. He also generated original video content for the school’s website.
Godett spent the 2010 baseball season as the coordinator of communications and radio broadcaster for the Bradenton Marauders Baseball Club, an Advanced Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has also served as a radio broadcast assistant for the Buffalo Bisons Baseball Club, a triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets, the Salem Avalanche Baseball Club and the Orleans Cardinals Baseball Club.
Godett is a 2009 graduate of the Syracuse S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. As a student at Syracuse, he served as the play-by-play announcer for football, men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse on the student station plus provided webcasts for www.suathletics.com. After accepting the Ball State job, Godett was direct messaged on Twitter by fellow Syracuse alumnus Mike Tirico offering congratulations. “At first I thought it was spam,” Godett grins. “People talk about the Syracuse network and family. It’s neat to have that physical realization and be a part of it and realize your part of this network of people that have this one common bond and one common tie.”
Now, Godett welcomes the next stage of his career in Muncie, Indiana. “It’s a really diverse opportunity and a chance to plant some roots and grow.”
(Visit Joel’s STAA Talent Page).