The Ivy Influence: Ivies in Sports Media

DID YOU KNOW? Doug Glanville, Marcellus Wiley, James Brown and Dan Jiggetts have made careers in sports media despite majoring in fields not related to communications, broadcasting or journalism. Their majors were systems engineering (Glanville), sociology (Wiley), American Government (Brown) and government (Jiggetts).

These four Ivies are from different parts of the country and played three different sports at three different Ivy League institutions but their career paths have evolved to the same place -- talking sports.

Glanville, a native of Teaneck, N.J., is the rookie of the three in the world of sports media. However, just as he did at Penn and in nine Major League Baseball seasons, he has made his impact quickly. As a writer, he is the author of "The Game From Where I Stand" published in 2010 and has been an Op-Extra columnist for the New York Times. As a broadcaster, he has contributed to the "Power Alley" show on XM Radio's MLB Home Plate and on ComcastSportsNet Chicago. His broadcasting career hit the bright lights on April 1, 2010, when ESPN announced Glanville was coming to the worldwide leader as a baseball analyst on Baseball Tonight, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. 

By 2010, Wiley's role at ESPN was already expanding. That year the Columbia graduate was named co-host of "Winners Bracket," a one-hour bracket-style format show airing on ABC. Just nine months later, he was named co-host of his own radio show under the ESPN umbrella, "Max & Marcellus," with Max Kellerman on 710 AM in Los Angeles. The Compton, Calif., native joined ESPN in 2007 after a successful 10-year career in the National Football League with four teams and an equally impactful four seasons at Columbia that culminated in being named first-team All-America once and first-team All-Ivy twice.

Brown was named All-Ivy (second team) three times during his basketball playing days at Harvard in the early 1970s. He was drafted by both the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks and by the American Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets in 1973. The Washington, D.C., native, however, never played a minute of professional basketball though he would become a professional in the world of sports, as one of its most recognizable broadcasters. Brown first joined CBS Sports in 1984 and then went to FOX to host "FOX NFL Sunday" for 12 years before returning to CBS Sports in 2006 to host its NFL pregame show, "THE NFL TODAY." He added duties of hosting the long-running show "Inside the NFL" when it moved from HBO to CBS Corporation-owned Showtime in 2008.

As impressive as his four-decade career has been, so is his list of broadcasting awards. Brown's recognitions include three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Studio Host, the 2006 Pat Summerall Award, the 2007 Maxwell Football Club Excellence in Broadcasting Award and the 2009 Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence. In September 2009, Brown became an author with his first book, "Role of a Lifetime: Reflections on Faith, Family and Significant Living."

Jiggetts came along right after Brown at Harvard and had big time impact on the gridiron. His senior season, he anchored the offensive line and captained the Crimson to its first outright Ivy League title in 1975. Jiggetts went on to have a stellar seven-year career with the Chicago Bears, playing in 98 games. It would be in Chicago where the sportscasting career of the Brooklyn, N.Y., native began and continues to this today. These days Jiggetts is one of the most known anchors/reporters on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, especially on the network's shows dedicated to covering the Bears.

Glanville, Wiley, Brown and Jiggetts. Four African-American Ivies imparting their influence in the world of sports media each in their own ways through the written word, in front of the camera and behind the mic.