(August 20, 2018) Brett Williams is off to a hot start in his broadcast career. Williams has been hired as the new play-by-play voice for Western Kentucky women’s basketball.
It’s a big step for the STAA member as Williams leaves a broadcast position with Queens University a year after graduating from the University of South Carolina. He learned about the WKU opportunity in an email from STAA.
“I saw the lead in late May and immediately applied,” said Williams. “A week later, I left a voicemail during my follow-up call, and I continued to follow up via email for a little while longer.”
Williams didn’t hear back for two months.
“While on vacation with my family in late July, I received an email requesting a phone interview, and I conducted that interview with Chris Bloomfield of Hilltopper IMG Sports Marketing the next day from, of all places, an amusement park! That proved to be an easy and evidently effective icebreaker, as Chris called me three days later, asked if my family and I had enjoyed our vacation, and then offered me the job.”
Williams joined Queens University as a broadcaster and multimedia assistant shortly after graduating from South Carolina. His experience is adding up quickly.
“I was fortunate to join Queens just as the Queens Sports Network, an all-encompassing live broadcasting and digital media platform, was launching. This allowed me the opportunity to call many games on a consistent basis and devote more time to honing my craft.”
Timing helps but it isn’t everything. Williams was wise beyond his years to do the research it required to become the voice of the Hilltoppers.
“I made sure to learn as much as I could about WKU. That helped me prove my interest in and commitment to the job in each piece of communication I had with hiring managers—cover letter, follow-ups, and the interview. More importantly, it prepared me to better do my job now that I have it.”
The quick rise has Williams joining a D-1 basketball program after graduating college last year. He credits STAA throughout the process.
“My STAA membership has played a pivotal role in the launch of my career. I’ve gone through the hiring cycle twice now, and almost all the openings to which I’ve applied have come from STAA job lead emails.”
“Moreover, I’ve noticed a continuous uptick in the quality and quantity of responses I’ve received from hiring managers as I’ve further applied [STAA’s] lessons. Pursuing play-by-play jobs, especially early in one’s career, isn’t for the faint of heart, and I’m very grateful to Jon and his colleagues for helping me achieve my goals.”
(Visit Bretts website).