Communiqué
For Erik Threet II, the road to ESPN went through WOUB
< < Back toThe journalism news and information major graduated from Ohio University in 2018
ATHENS, OH – When Erik Threet II came to Athens, Ohio from Rockville, Maryland, the goal was to utilize one of the best journalism schools in the country to become an on-air sports personality.
“It was always sports,” said Threet. “I knew that was what I wanted to do.”
So, at the end of his freshman year at Ohio University, when Threet learned about the opportunity to work in the fall on Gridiron Glory, WOUB’s half-hour weekly high school football program, he jumped at the chance.
“The whole production was like something you would work on in the professional world,” said Threet. “And it was more than just Gridiron. At WOUB you had the ability to cover games and do on-air sports, but you also could do online work, as well as news and radio. The versatility and different opportunities you could stumble upon was something I liked.”
Threet worked as an online host and senior reporter for Gridiron Glory, and was also the host of WOUB’s Hardwood Heroes, a half-hour weekly high school basketball program.
“It was great hands-on experience,” said Threet. “Originally, I thought I wanted to be an on-air sports person. But I came to realize that I didn’t want to work in local sports after I graduated. I wanted to work doing national sports coverage. I also realized I just wanted to tell sports stories and that I could do that without being the face of it.”
After graduation, Threet attended the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention in Detroit and made connections with people at ESPN. A few months later he was hired at ESPN as a production assistant. Threet started working on the show Get Up!, then he worked on the Will Cain Show and now he is a content associate working on SportsCenter.
“I’ve been able to get a bunch of different experiences doing a myriad of different things at ESPN,” said Threet. “It’s been great.”
Threet says his experience at Ohio University and WOUB prepared him to hit the ground running at ESPN.
“WOUB presented me with opportunities that would teach me real-life lessons. Going through trials and tribulations, you learn how it affects you and how to tell a story and trouble shoot,” said Threet. “You could also learn as much as possible from professional staff. They did a great job at being honest with us and having us look for answers while giving us guidance and not letting us stray off the path. I loved my experience at WOUB. It was a great time with great friends and a great experience that I still draw on today.”