(August 29, 2018) Mike Hammett spent a lot of time preparing for an opportunity that came quickly. An STAA member, Hammett is making the jump from NCAA DII to DI as the women’s basketball and baseball voice at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. He will also host football pre-game and halftime shows.
The timing is right after two seasons with Southwestern Oklahoma State prepared Hammett for the opportunity.
“It was a very quick process. When I read the [STAA] job lead and saw the fast track timeline on it, I knew I needed to immediately send my resume and demo to [ULM broadcaster] Nick White,” says Hammett. “Two days later, Nick replied to my e-mail just before the closing of the application period to set up an interview. I reviewed the job interviewing tips from an STAA live chat and spent over an hour on the phone with Nick.”
The ULM opening was shared only within STAA and all four finalists who interviewed are STAA members.
Hammett started his broadcasting career in Hays, Kansas. He is a two-time winner of the Oscar Stauffer Award for broadcasting excellence. In addition to Southwest Oklahoma State, Hammett has play-by-play experience with Kansas Wesleyan University and Kansas State University.
“This opportunity at ULM allows me to reach Division I and build relationships at that level. I’m looking forward to not only building relationships with Nick White, the coaches and student-athletes at ULM, but also with fellow broadcasters and athletic department employees across the Sun Belt Conference and beyond.”
Being prepared for the job market was critical for Hammett since ULM was on an expedited hiring timeline.
“The biggest thing I did was having my STAA Talent Page and resume ready to go. I sent an email to Nick White within two hours of receiving the job lead,” explained Hammett. “Instead of asking for a cover letter, Nick wanted three sentences about why I was qualified for the job. I used those three sentences to highlight my seven years of collegiate play-by-play experience, my experience working select games for Kansas State University baseball, as well as my social media background.”
Hammett made sure to chalk up the assist to STAA.
“The listing with ULM was available only to STAA members, so without it, I would have never learned of the opportunity. [STAA’s] emails with tips on play-by-play, interviewing, social media, and how to build a resume, cover letter, and demo have all been invaluable.”
(Visit Mike’s STAA Talent Page).