Play-by-play broadcaster Tim Fitzgerald always takes time to say hello to the broadcasters and sports information directors from opposing schools. That relationship building is paying off. Fitzgerald is the new Sports Information Director and broadcaster at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA.
The Gaels are members of the Western Athletic Conference. Fitzgerald will be the SID for both genders of soccer and tennis, along with women’s basketball, golf, and baseball. He adds excitedly, “There will be broadcast opportunities for all sports as well.”
Fitzgerald joins St. Mary’s after seven years at nearby Cal State University Maritime. He was the voice of Keelhaulers men’s & women’s basketball and men’s soccer.
Relationship building
One of the sports information directors Fitzgerald befriended is fellow STAA member Brian Brownfield. The pair were together in the CalPac conference when Brownfield was at Menlo College. They continued their friendship after Brownfield moved to St. Mary’s. Fitzgerald was paying attention when Brownfield was promoted this summer.
“I reached out to him after he announced his promotion to see if an opportunity was available. He said there was and I applied,” Fitzgerald recalls.
Relationship building is something that did not always come easily to Fitzgerald. “I used to be the artist who did his performing but didn’t network,” he remembers. “I found the way for that to feel natural is by just being me and getting over that first-interaction fear. I didn’t feel bound to some networking formula or moves from a book. And by still being me in my networking I have good relationships with my fellow SIDs.
“Brian and I have always been eager to give help each other out with no expectations of anything in return.”
Longtime STAA member
Fitzgerald has been an STAA member since 2012. “STAA has taught me how to prepare and hunt for a job in this very unique industry. I’ve learned what hiring managers are looking for in a demo, resume, and cover letter, and ways to constantly get better at my work.”
Now Fitzgerald is taking what he’s learned across Northern California’s Suisun Bay. “It’s a phenomenal opportunity to move up to a DI mid major, right here in the Bay Area, cover baseball again, be on the West Coast Conference Network, and work with someone I already have a rapport with,” he enthuses.