BGRSO alum Everett Fitzhugh provides real-world insights

by | News Blog

In the spirit of giving back, Everett Fitzhugh, the first black play-by-play announcer in NHL history, joined our weekly sports meeting to share some insights with our team. Here are some highlights according to our radio sports production director Charlie Ryan.

Thank you, Everett, for taking time to mentor the next generation of sports journalists. (Photo by Charlie Ryan)
  • Everett spent time working with Falcon hockey for three years, spending an extra year after graduating calling the games on 88.1
  • He worked for the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL making very little money his first year in the business
  • Made the move to the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones where he worked for five years.
  • Became play-by-play for the NHL expansion Seattle Kraken in 2020 (side note: In case you think writing profiles and features has little impact, Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke personally reached out to Everett after reading an article about him in The Athletic)
  • One of the big things that he learned about working as the play-by-play guy for many different teams, is that you have to wear many hats, which may include hockey operations, sales, PR, and media relations
  • Play-by-play is more than just telling what is happening in the game, you need to be a storyteller, which comes with getting to know the players more to be able to find some stories away from the ice
  • When working on the radio make sure to bring your personality on air, remember you are really selling yourself rather than the game
  • Your bosses care more about getting people in the door than having you call the game, so you have to become a partial salesman for the events that will be happening for upcoming games to try and entice people into coming to the game
  • There is really only a small percentage of people listening that really know about the sport, and care to follow the game. so make sure to tell the story about the players during the game

We appreciate the valuable insight Everett shared, providing real-world perspectives that simply can’t be taught in the classroom. Interested in helping our students prepare for life after graduation? Shoot an email to Karl Smith (skarl@bgsu.edu).