P ROFIL E |
JEN A. MILLER
BROADCAST MENTOR Since retiring from ESPN, sportscaster Bob Ley ’76 has lent his considerable talents to helping shape the future of sports media education at Seton Hall.
Y
ou probably know Bob Ley ’76, if not by face, by voice. When he retired in 2019, Ley was ESPN’s
Center for Sports Media at Seton Hall, offering an interdisciplinary approach to learning that mixes
longest-tenured anchor, with his first broadcast
academic training with practical experience in the
airing on September 9, 1979. His career is a
industry, through partnerships with major media outlets.
cavalcade of accomplishments: In 1980, he hosted
The center will offer a “cross-disciplinary, outward
the first NCAA Selection Show, and in 1995 he narrated the
look at sports media that distinguishes [Seton Hall] and
first This is SportsCenter ad. He’s interviewed four United
enriches the student experience,” he says. “It will give
States presidents, won 11 Sports Emmys, and won two
students the ability to practice the practical elements
Peabody Awards for his work on ESPN’s Outside the Lines,
of the profession and get real experience — be it
a show he helmed for almost 30 years.
reporting, storytelling, mastering the technical side
That all began at WSOU-FM, Seton Hall’s radio station, when Ley started broadcasting play-by-plays of Pirates basketball in 1972. “WSOU became the place where you would go in the
or understanding the history of the issues at play.” “Bob is one of the kindest and most ethical people I’ve ever met. He’s authentic,” says Renee Robinson, interim dean of the College of Communication and the Arts.
morning. You’d go to classes, go back to the radio station, go
“He takes the time to talk to our students, and to listen.
to class, go back to the radio station,” says Ley, who grew
He’s invested in the University, not just with his gift
up in Bloomfield, New Jersey (three blocks from Holsten’s,
— which is affording wonderful opportunities to our
he noted, which was used for the final scenes of The
students — but also with his time, his energy and his
Sopranos) and commuted to school. “You’d spend more time
enthusiasm dedicated to what we can accomplish.”
at WSOU than you would in all your classes put together.” He stayed close to Seton Hall, too, even as he became
16
In 2021, Ley made a lead donation to fund the
Ley’s broadcast journalism career started to take off even before he graduated. While still a student
one of the biggest names in sports media. Ley served
and working at WSOU, he also worked at 710 WOR in
on the Board of Regents, gave the 2019 commencement
New York City. That landed him a spot at Suburban
speech, and in early 2020, came back to call a Pirates
Cablevision East Orange, which was just launching,
basketball game.
a few months after graduation.
