Written by Kaileigh Grieb '25
- Endicott Athletics Student Beat Writer
BEVERLY, Mass. – Behind every great broadcast is a voice that echoes throughout every stream.
They have charisma, the ability to understand the game, love for the sports they cover, and, most importantly, they know how to let a special moment breathe – allowing the cheers and sights on the viewer's screen tell the story.
Joe Casey (Atkinson, N.H.) has all those qualities, making him one of the most well-known and beloved broadcasters Endicott College has seen.
Casey is a senior Communication major and odds are if you have seen him around campus, a smile is spread across his face. Whether it be in the classroom or on the field, Casey is easily recognizable and his voice draws people in.
However, the friendly broadcaster recalled how providing the soundtrack for Endicott Athletics wasn't exactly on his radar as a freshman. Fate had different plans for Casey once he started looking for an on-campus job, as broadcasting for the Gulls found its way to the top of his search list.
"Ever since I was a kid, I had a joke with my dad that when I was little someone asked me 'What I wanted to be when I was older?' I said I wanted to be a broadcaster and would tell my dad that 'I wanted to be the voices'," reflected Casey when asked about what sparked his interest in going into broadcasting.
And so, it was a no-brainer that when the position was open, Casey went for it.
All broadcasters know that broadcasting a game is anything but light work. Casey takes it upon himself to prep up to three days in advance of games, and, for football, he says it takes even longer – picking away at each player's profile daily until it's time to go live. Casey emphasizes going with the flow and keeping cool, calm, and collected while live and it shows for someone who has broadcast nearly every sport at Endicott.
He takes his time to do his research, utilizing social media and other news stories on team and players to allow for the stream to be as informational and entertaining as possible, saying:
"It usually takes two to three days before depending on the game, football takes a little longer. So, for football, I'll do a little bit per day coming up to Saturday. So, Monday and Tuesday I'll start doing a little bit and then Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I'll ramp it up by researching... I'll write down little stuff at the time so I'm filling the air and not boring everyone at home."
Casey's development over his time as a broadcaster at Endicott has shown through his work, going from a shy freshman who feared the camera to a confident senior who lights up every room he walks into.
"I was timid, weird, nervous to be on air freshman year, but I fully dug myself in. I've watched a lot of broadcasts, both myself and others at Endicott as well as professionally. I got into it, took the compliments as they came but took the negative stuff to work on as it came as well. I just did my best to make it exciting for the fans and be the best I can be."
Shawn Medeiros, the Director of Sports Information at Endicott, met Casey as a freshman when he first showed interest in being a part of athletics. Medeiros took a chance on Casey and hasn't looked back since.
"From freshman year to now, he's taken on a huge responsibility. He's essentially the captain of the broadcasting team if you will," Medeiros said.
Some of Casey's responsibilities include helping Medeiros with the broadcasters' schedules, training new broadcasters, and reviewing film with all broadcasters to make the product better throughout the year.
When asked to reflect on Casey's time within EC Athletics, Medeiros couldn't help but smile when thinking of the once shy freshman now turned broadcasting star.
"I just love the energy that he brings. He cares so much about how the product is perceived. He cares a lot about the development of other students, which I think says a lot about who he is as a person because I think when you get people who are doing broadcasting, egos get involved after a certain point. Joe has certainly been filled with more compliments than negative feedback by people and I don't ever think that it gets to Joe's head."
Fans of EC athletics have heard Casey's voice on both men's and women's soccer streams as well as football, but where he gets most of his notoriety is broadcasting for Endicott's baseball team.
Casey's impact on the baseball community has gone so much farther than he ever imagined it could. Fans, friends, and family members of the team are seen welcoming Casey with open arms at every game.
One player's family, in particular, took an extreme interest in Casey's streams. That being Joey Millar (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) and his father.
Millar was an asset to Endicott's baseball team up until his final season with the Gulls in 2023 as a grad student. Millar's impact on the team and his game presence made it, as Casey said, easy and entertaining.
"He plays a major role in Endicott baseball, you can ask any of the guys when we roll to the fields on any given day, and Joe Casey is broadcasting the games and doing his commentating, we all know it's his voice," laughed Millar. "We all know it's what he enjoys and it honestly fuels us because he gives us that energy on and off the field. We just appreciate everything he does for our program."
Millar's father, Matt, was hooked on Casey's streams early on and saw the potential in the young broadcaster.
Being miles and miles away from The Nest, M. Millar said that Casey had a special way of connecting the long-distance parents and fans at home to the team through his broadcasts, so, when he finally had the opportunity to meet Casey, the young aspiring sports narrator did not disappoint.
"He really put the game into your house if you couldn't make the game and then I got to know Joe [Casey] when I was going up there for every game for the past two years, you know, to bust his chops if he wasn't gonna be at the game because of an exam," laughed M. Millar.
To that point, it wasn't uncommon last season to see Casey sprint into the broadcast booth during the third or fourth inning of a game due to his class schedule; the mad dash to the microphone was always accompanied by cheers from Endicott's baseball parents in the first few rows.
Aside from all the jokes about giving Casey a hard time for missing or being late to a game or two, the Millars stressed the impact that he had on the team's broadcast reflected the athletic department as a whole and brought them up to a higher level.
"He brought it to a Division One level as far as the announcing, because there is no comparison with what he did announcing games, with the other schools, there's just no comparison. He took a lot of pride in it and it showed. The parents appreciate it and we always talked about it," reflected Matt.
The players and coaching staff themselves know that what Casey does is far more important than what he might believe. Casey has no doubt been welcomed as an extension of the team and is seen as an asset to the team's culture and fanbase.
BEYOND THE BROADCAST
Casey knows that he is a student before he is a broadcaster and like everything he does for EC athletics, he tackles his education just as seriously as a gameday.
He made sure to tip his hat to the professors and educational programs that have given him the confidence and ability to be where he is today.
"The communication department is just great here. I've grown to love it, whether it be my advisor, Professor Yang, or Professors Wemmer and Livingstone, they've all been huge for me in my growth," Casey said. "There have been a million different avenues and different options for classes I've been able to take with a bunch of cool people and professors who are experts in their craft."
Casey made a point to emphasize the importance of utilizing the internship programs that Endicott offers to all students and how opportunities continue to arise for him thanks to his knowledge.
"My internship right now is writing on sports for a newspaper and covering games, feature stories, and all that. I kind of wanted to take a different avenue of sports journalism because I've done broadcasting and podcasting," Casey reflected on his internship.
The internship in question is with The Daily Item, a local newspaper based out of Lynn that focuses on high school sports and local events that impact the community. Casey particularly focuses on the sports journalism aspects of the paper.
But, when asked what his post-graduation plan was, Casey pondered for a moment. Enjoying the new perspective he's gotten from his internship, he is keeping his options open on what he wants to do post-graduation.
"I never really wrote like this and I wanted to get into it. So, I did and I don't exactly know what I like the best yet, but I want to do something under the sports journalism umbrella, whether it be broadcast or written journalism for whatever publication it may be. There are obviously a million options in communication, but something under the sports journalism wing is definitely what I want to stick with."
Beyond the classroom and the broadcasts, Casey has contributed his personality and hard work to other forms of media. That is the other half of the "Ultimate Gull Podcast" with co-host Michael Clapprood (Cumberland, R.I.).
The podcast airs on Spotify every Monday and features numerous student-athletes and coaches interviewed by the pair and a weekly review of Endicott's sports programs.
Clapprood recalls meeting Joe in his freshman year when he first started in EC athletics, now a junior, the pair haven't stopped supporting one another.
"I think his impact has been greater than most, showing that even though you may not be playing a sport you can still get involved... He's someone everyone should look up to."
Also being a communication major like Casey, Clapprood has shared multiple classes with Casey and shared that his work ethic does not shy away both on and off air.
"He's a workhorse, this guy continues to work hard and develop really good relationships with professors when I've been in his class. Sometimes you wonder if he'll ever be quiet, but he continues to build really strong relationships with his class," joked Clapprood.
Without broadcasters like Casey, sports wouldn't be as we know and love them.
Being one of the "voices", as a young Casey would have described them back when he was a child, is a talent that not many people are given nor do they know how to properly use it.
But, broadcasters like him give fans the true experience of watching the highs and lows of college sports.
For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
(Photo Credit - Emma Purple '24)
