Let me preface this by saying I’m a Syracuse Orange homer and a huge fan of sports announcer Mike Tirico as well. He’s only a few years older than me but old enough that I saw him on WTVH-5 in my teen years and love his work since he’s left.
He’s called big sporting events and worked for ESPN, NBC and likely others as well over the years. He will be the voice of the NBA on NBC next season as well and recently had to pull out at the last minute due to health issues before doing the Kentucky Derby.
Recently, while in town, Mike stopped by what used to be the WSTM-3 studios (but now 3 & 5 are combined into CNY Central) and appeared on the Orange Zone podcast alongside CNY Central sports anchor/director Samantha Croston and producer Rachel Culver.
Normally, I might not do a post about a podcast appearance but I think Mike took the time to discuss some interesting topics. In doing so, he shared his opinion as a Syracuse alum, a current board of trustees member and several years as one of the best sports broadcasters and play-by-play guys in the business.
I encourage you to listen to the interview in full because it is hard providing information and preface everything in proper context but much like an elementary school student in the 80s, I’ll try to give you the highlights (Highlights magazine was so fun as a kid, along with Mad Libs).
Syracuse alum and respected broadcaster Mike Tirico recently hopped on the Orange Zone podcast.
But here are a few points in particular I found worth noting and why I wanted to write this. Like for instance, he brought up one possible idea to limit some of the NIL/transfer portal would be having players have buyout options like coaches do.
I personally don’t hate that idea. I also agree 100% with his idea that players would get one free transfer before you sit out a season (unless your coach leaves or you can provide a personal exemption for family reasons or something of that matter).
Samantha asked Mike about football head coach Fran Brown and his style and wanting alumni to be involved in the program, saying maybe it wasn’t welcomed as much in past regimes. He also calls Fran “genuine” with people skills.
One thing I also loved is when Rachel asks if Coach Brown’s impact can help the community as well and Mike touches on it, saying he thinks it also helps players be better people under him and women’s basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack because of their impact on the community and the community on them.
The subject of NIL comes up too and he discusses (and I agree) that NIL should be exactly what the initials imply allowing players to profit off their own merits but because the NCAA “was completely asleep” to allow it to get this way and that conferences looked the other way because it brought in money. He also talks about the SEC and Big East advantages in the NIL space (the Big East, especially in basketball, due to the lack of football money needed).
This also led Mike to say what I and others have been saying that if this becomes more semi-pro than the college scene we’ve loved, it will be “watered down” and calling it unsustainable and not good for the college brand.
And while some will say it’s unfair that universities profit off of them, there are still ways to regulate this and allow student athletes to profit as well. Mike even notes that he is married to a former women’s basketball co-captain (along with Coach Jack during their playing days), that he understands they deserve opportunities to get compensated, seeing firsthand how much commitment was involved as a student athlete.
Mike also goes into depth about his time here in Syracuse quite a bit, why he loves shooting live and spontaneously on his feet, his allergic reaction that caused him to not do the Kentucky Derby broadcast and a lot more in this one-hour interview, many of which include memories for older fans like me who remember Syracuse sports in the 80s. Older fans will enjoy the nostalgia and younger fans will appreciate his discussions on current events as well.
You can find this podcast on your usual podcast channels, most likely, or see the video of it now on YouTube here.