(July 27, 2017) John Ramey is a talented broadcaster. He’s been part of the broadcast team at UCLA since 2010. He’s called basketball on ESPN3. He’s filled-on on Virginia Tech and Boston College broadcasts. Still, Ramey was not invited to interview for several DI football/basketball jobs for which he applied.
Until now.
An STAA member, Ramey is the new football and men’s basketball voice of the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.
“I get to be the lead voice of a D1 program. This is a goal I’ve worked towards for my entire career,” Ramey says excitedly.
In recent years, Ramey had repeatedly been told about regionality and fit when trying to understand why he was coming up short in his pursuits. Now, he understands that those things do, indeed, matter.
“Not getting a job, not getting an interview, is NOT an indictment of one’s professional merit,” says Ramey. “It’s merely a by-product of so few jobs, and so many qualified candidates.”
Ramey’s play-by-play career started with high school games in 1994. Since then, he’s broadcast basketball and baseball for UC Riverside, and baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball and water polo for UCLA. He’s also filled-in on Bruins men’s basketball, and has been hosting UCLA pre and post game shows and the Bruins Insider Show.
Broadcasting rights at the University of Nevada are managed by Learfield Sports. Ramey believes his relationships with Learfield, and with people currently or formerly associated with UCLA broadcasts, aided his pursuit of the Nevada position.
“I think the relationship I cultivated with [Learfield Sports VP-Broadcast Operations] Tom Boman (doing fill-in work for St. Cloud State, for example), the very strong working relationships I enjoyed with UCLA broadcasters Chris Roberts, Bill Roth, and Josh Lewin, and my friendships and good working relationships with administration folks both at UCLA and UC Riverside were the biggest weapons in my arsenal.”
Ramey has been an STAA member since 2016.
“STAA was great in making my professional brand complete,” he says. “The one-stop shopping for a web presence, advice on details, presentation, insight into the fluctuations of the marketplace…all of the smaller details I personally found challenging to constantly track, STAA was a great solution.
“It’s important folks know STAA does make the difference,” says Ramey.
(Visit John’s STAA Talent Page).