The Jets Setter

By John Brickley

The red light flicked on inside the campus broadcast booth, and Beckett Calkins’ voice cut through the gym with professional calm as he called the opening tip. Across the sports media industry, layoffs and consolidation continue to shrink traditional career paths, leaving student broadcasters like Calkins preparing for a future that looks far less certain than the one they once imagined.

From the outside, college sports broadcasting looks unchanged. The play-by-play cadence rises on a fast break. The color analyst fills the silence. The producer counts down to commercial. Inside the booth, however, student broadcasters now carry a sharper awareness of risk as they train for an industry that no longer guarantees stability.

Major sports media outlets have reduced staff, consolidated coverage, and shifted resources in ways that signal long-term change. While public attention often focuses on veteran journalists losing jobs, college students preparing to enter the profession feel the ripple effects just as strongly. They continue to chase the same dream — calling games, telling stories and covering sports — but they do so knowing talent alone may no longer be enough.

“I still love calling games,” said Calkins, a sports journalism graduate student at Quinnipiac University. “But now I don’t think just being good on the mic is enough. You have to do everything.”

For many students, “everything” now includes shooting and editing video, running social media accounts, producing live streams, creating graphics and building personal brands alongside academic work. Students describe an unspoken pressure to become multi-skilled early, not as a résumé booster, but as a survival strategy in a tightening job market.

That reality resonates with fellow graduate student Benjamin Rickevicius, who balances on-air work with production responsibilities. Rickevicius said recent industry layoffs forced him to rethink how he defines success in sports media.

“It used to be about landing a full-time job with a network or a team,” Rickevicius said. “Now it’s more about staying in the industry at all, even if that means freelancing, bouncing between roles or working contract to contract.”

Faculty members who oversee sports media programs say they see this shift clearly. Nick Pietruszkiewicz, an assistant professor of journalism at Quinnipiac, director of sports communications and co-director of sports studies, said today’s students arrive with a mix of passion and realism shaped by the instability they witness across the industry.

“They’re more aware than students were 10 years ago,” Pietruszkiewicz said. “They understand the industry doesn’t owe them anything, and that changes how they approach their education.”

Pietruszkiewicz said the program has adjusted its curriculum to reflect that reality. Instead of training students for narrowly defined on-air roles, the program emphasizes versatility. Students learn how to report, edit, produce and distribute content across platforms, often within the same course.

“We’re not telling students to stop dreaming,” Pietruszkiewicz said. “We’re telling them to build skill sets that give them more ways to stay in the game.”

That message creates both opportunity and pressure. Some students view the expanding skill requirements as empowering. Others worry the industry expects too much from young broadcasters before offering job security.

“There’s a feeling that you always have to be working,” Calkins said. “If you’re not calling a game, you’re editing. If you’re not editing, you’re posting. If you stop, someone else is ready to take your place.”

That constant motion has changed how students approach college broadcasts. Several said they no longer view games as practice, but as professional showcases. They seek feedback earlier, take criticism seriously and build portfolios with urgency.

“I don’t look at this as a class anymore,” Rickevicius said. “Every game feels like an audition.”

Despite the uncertainty, optimism still fills broadcast booths and production rooms. Students continue to arrive early, stay late and invest emotionally in games that draw small audiences. Faculty members say that dedication remains the most encouraging sign.

“The platforms may change, but storytelling still matters,” Pietruszkiewicz said. “Students who understand accuracy, preparation and clarity have skills that travel.”

For today’s college sports broadcasters, “making it” no longer means a single destination or job title. It means adaptability, resilience and a willingness to evolve alongside the industry.

Back in the booth, the final buzzer sounds and the broadcast signs off. The students pack up their equipment and head back across campus, already thinking about the next game. They cannot control the industry they will enter, but they can control how prepared they feel when opportunity arrives.

For now, they keep calling the game — voices steady, eyes open, futures uncertain and commitment intact.