Studying to attain a law degree is an intensive task that requires commitment and dedication, along with having an erudite understanding of different types of law and standards of litigation. Completing law school is usually laborious for most students since the occupation involves meticulous preparation and the application of knowledge into real-world situations pertaining to intricacies such as burdens of proof, depositions and arraignments. Of course, the job of an attorney is to represent a plaintiff or a defendant and advocate on their behalf, and while much of their time is spent in offices and courtrooms, some have given broadcasting a try. It is fair to consider Jay Bilas a part of that group, specializing in commercial litigation and all things college hoops.
History scholars are surely cognizant of a maxim authored by former Pennsylvania governor and American pantologist Benjamin Franklin which states, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” It is evident that preparedness is paradigmatic in effectuating a greater chance at success, mitigating ostensible roadblocks before they occur. Bilas, through his law training, was taught methods of preparing for cases and today is of counsel at the law firm Moore & Van Allen.
Working as a lawyer, however, is not Bilas’ full-time job. That would be working for ESPN as one of its top college basketball commentators, providing analysis of players and teams both on studio programming and courtside for select matchups. His journey in sports media, unconventional in and of itself, kept him around the game he has fervently scrutinized in a variety of roles. It has afforded him a chance to disseminate his esoteric perspectives on the sport based on his previous experience – voluminous and stratified – along with his means of interpretation.
“I’ve learned about the game since I’ve played it and since I was an assistant coach,” Bilas said. “That’s been one of the great things about this job. If I had stayed as an assistant and had [my] own program at some point, I probably wouldn’t know as much about the game as I feel like I know now.”
Indeed, Bilas has been present around several accomplished college basketball programs through his role at ESPN, something that would not have been possible had he remained a member of the Duke University Blue Devils men’s basketball team’s coaching staff.
Led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski for 42 seasons, the team won five national championships and qualified for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament 36 times, posting an overall record of 97-30 and 13 appearances in the Final Four. Krzyzewski, an undisputed savant of the game, recruited Bilas to play for the team as one of the top high school basketball prospects in the country.
Before Bilas considered institutions in which to matriculate, he participated in an interview with a local media outlet where he expressed an interest in broadcasting after playing basketball. In his youth, his mother encouraged him to try a variety of different activities, including various debate courses and competing in ballroom dancing, shaping him into a multifaceted, avant-garde recruit with recognizance in many different subject matters.
Interested basketball programs took notice and made sure that they introduced Bilas to executives in their communication departments during his visits, giving him a more comprehensive understanding of interacting with the media. During his visit to Duke University, Krzyzewski introduced Bilas to Chuck Howard, an 11-time Emmy-winning producer with ABC Sports and pioneer in sports broadcasting.
In the end, Bilas had a decision to make between playing for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes; the Syracuse University Orange; the University of Kansas Jayhawks; or the Duke University Blue Devils. Shortly thereafter, he found himself packing his bags to travel from his hometown of Los Angeles to Durham, N.C. and immersing himself in its system and the shrewd intellect of Krzyzewski.
On top of that, his conversation with Howard led to Bilas landing a job with ABC Sports during the summers as a runner where he assisted in the production of signature events. Some of these spectacles included the 1983 PGA Championship, the 1984 Summer Olympics (held in Los Angeles) and Monday Night Baseball broadcasts featuring premier voices of “America’s Pastime.”
“It just kind of got me interested in it,” Bilas said, “and I just sort of pursued it, I guess, from there…. “I think [that for] anybody who gets into this kind of thing, you’re always thinking, ‘Well, can I do this? Is this something I should do?’ Chuck was very positive all the time.”
Bilas was a four-year starter under Krzyzewski and faced off against difficult opponents, most notably the University of North Carolina Tar Heels featuring a dynamic guard by the name of Michael Jordan. After winning the NCAA Division I men’s basketball national championship in 1982, “His Airness” proceeded to win six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and is referred to by many basketball pundits as the greatest player of all time.
He also was a two-time participant in the Olympic Games including in 1984 before his NBA debut, meaning that Bilas covered him when working for ABC Sports. He and the Blue Devils had ended Jordan’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) career just a few months earlier in an epic 77-75 upset, but it was one of the few games Bilas did not start because of an injury he had sustained three days earlier.
As a member of one of the highest-scoring college basketball recruiting classes ever assembled – which featured Mark Alarie, Dave Henderson and Johnny Dawkins in addition to Bilas – the team developed and made it all the way to the 1986 NCAA Division I men’s basketball national championship game. Although Duke was defeated 72-69 by the University of Louisville Cardinals, the team helped set the foundation in place for the program to thrive in forthcoming seasons.
Upon graduating Duke University with a degree in political science, Bilas was drafted to the National Basketball Association in the fifth round by the Dallas Mavericks; however, he never played an NBA game. After some time playing professionally in Italy and Spain, Bilas returned to Duke University where he served as an assistant coach on the basketball team and worked to earn a law degree. Having served as a player and a coach, Bilas has utilized these experiences to handle and implement feedback from media bosses over his time in the industry, rounding him into a bonafide professional and adept colleague.
“You welcome feedback because it lets you know what other people think and people whose opinions you really value and whose judgments you value, and you act on it, especially when it’s right and reasonable,” Bilas said.
“When you get criticism – constructive or otherwise – you have to ask yourself [first] if it’s right, and if it’s right you need to deal with it. Second, if it’s reasonable, and if it’s reasonable, you need to consider it carefully; if it’s unreasonable, you just dismiss it. I’m not saying that’s what you do with your bosses because anything you get from your bosses is going to be reasonable.”
With this year’s tournament having been the first Final Four without a qualifying No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed – and busting all brackets in the process (there is approximately a 1 in 9.2 quintillion chance of compiling a perfect bracket) – it was an intriguing watch for college basketball fans. Bilas was part of ESPN’s coverage live from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on College GameDay and called the semifinal matchup between the University of Connecticut Huskies and University of Miami Hurricanes alongside Brian Custer on ESPN’s international feed, syndicated to over 180 countries worldwide.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all event, but it’s as compelling a sporting event as I’ve ever watched and certainly that I’ve ever been a part of,” Bilas said. “I think there’s something special about having played in it, and [having] a role as an assistant coach and then having a role as a broadcaster. You’ve seen it from a lot of different angles – and before all that, I consumed it as a fan. I was the same kind of kid that watched it and dreamed of doing that someday, so there’s a dream aspect to it that’s really cool, and it’s something you have a hard time putting it into words.”
When it comes to sharing his opinions of college basketball, Bilas has worked at the craft of broadcasting to divulge compendious insights and viewpoints to viewers. Having that ability came in part because of his experience following, playing and coaching basketball, along with his abilities as a lawyer. Yet part of what makes Bilas a versatile broadcaster and the recipient of numerous industry honors, including the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, is by starting his sports media career in radio.
Less than a year after Bilas graduated law school and relinquished his duties as an assistant coach, he was offered a chance to work with Bob Harris on the Duke Radio Network as a color commentator for basketball games. He was hesitant about making the jump because he knew it would make it difficult to regularly practice law, but was urged to do so by legendary play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg, whom he met while in college.
“He felt like it was really good training,” said Bilas regarding Enberg’s view of radio. “If I remember right, he said, ‘Television is color by numbers, but the real artists are in radio.’ I think starting there really helped me because the play-by-play person is the one that paints the picture.”
Enberg was helpful for Bilas throughout his formative years in the industry, and they ended up working with one another beginning in 2003 covering the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament for CBS Sports.
Over the years working with ESPN and CBS Sports, Bilas has had the good fortune to be paired with play-by-play announcers such as Dan Schulman, Sean McDonough and Brent Musburger, and thoroughly enjoyed his time working with each of them. With Enberg though, the two formed chemistry on the air and a friendly relationship off the air, including one memorable outing to Belmont Abbey College, the place where Al McGuire first coached.
“We spent the whole day there and saw his old office [and] walked around the campus,” Bilas remembered. “He told Al McGuire stories all day. It was just a wonderful day; he was just a very thoughtful human being and very kind. I think that came through with him as a broadcaster.”
Even though he worked with CBS Sports for parts of its March Madness coverage, Bilas has primarily been with ESPN since 1995, causing him to diminish the amount of work he can do as a lawyer. As he assimilated into the network and its coverage of college basketball, Bilas’ abilities to make sense of the action stood out wherefore he earned desirable assignments. In attempting to describe his commentary style, Bilas underscored the importance of being genuine with your audience, ensuring his analysis is precise and any criticism is justified.
“I just kind of say what I see and interpret the game [in] the way I understand it and the way I was trained,” Bilas said. “….Getting inside all these different programs and being in their scouting reports and their practices and their coaches’ meetings over the last 27 years has taught me more about basketball than I think I ever could have learned if I had just stayed on that particular path I was on.”
Amid a typical college basketball broadcast, there are ebbs and flows engendering the accentuation of information and entertainment, along with balancing objectivity and subjectivity. Through this multifarious discourse, consumers in part remain engrossed in the on-air product, although some pundits would argue that the games themselves are the primary drivers of ratings and revenue rather than the commentary.
Even so, listening to a lackluster broadcast booth can foment indignation and displeasure from consumers, sometimes acting as a catalyst for viewers to change the channel.
“I think all of our jobs in this are saying the right thing at the right time in the right tone,” Bilas said. “….There are certain times when somebody may take something the wrong way or not how you intended it. I don’t place that responsibility on the listener. If I didn’t get the point across for them to understand it in the way I intended, that’s on me.”
Occasionally, Bilas will be criticized by viewers for showing bias towards one team, an accusation he considers an example of fans being unreasonable. Game commentary, in essence, is meant to communicate what is happening during a contest.
The broadcast equips statistics, graphics, detailed preparation and quotes from interviews to enhance its storytelling and provide context to moments. National commentators will usually place more attention on the team winning the game and/or discuss what everyone is talking about, maintaining their ethos and objectivity while doing justice to the product on the floor.
“Of course I may have said some nicer things about the team that won than the team that lost; that can happen,” Bilas expressed. “You kind of ask the question sometimes: ‘Which was more biased? My mouth or your ears?’”
Since the launch of College GameDay in 2005, Bilas has been a part of its panel as an analyst, causing him to adjust his approach in presenting information. He affirms that the setting cultivates discussion in less of a granular manner than game commentary, instead expounding on the landscape as a whole.
Additionally, Bilas interviews college basketball players in a segment called “94 Feet” for the show, conversing so viewers can learn more about them away from the court. He also appears on other ESPN studio programming, including Get Up!, SportsCenter and select ESPN Radio programs.
“I’ve always tried to just be conversational with my colleagues in the studio,” Bilas said. “I’m answering the question that a colleague asked and having a discussion with my cohort.”
When he is not calling games or voicing his opinions in the studio, Bilas may be writing a story for ESPN.com. In working to disclose his ideas and thoughts to readers, he believes they last longer because of the means through which they are being delivered. In today’s information-driven era with a dwindling attention span and emphasis on timeliness, possessing an alacrity to serve his audience is critical for him to adequately perform his versatile role.
There are opportunities, however, for Bilas to go into detail about topics, just as he did on the definition of “toughness” in his New York Times bestselling book titled, “Toughness: Developing True Strength On and Off the Court.”
“In my life as a lawyer, I had to do a lot of writing,” Bilas said. “You try to convey your thoughts in as concise a way as possible. That’s similar to what you try to do on the air when you’re speaking, but I’ve done a lot of writing over the years and I’ve always really enjoyed it.”
When crafting its booth for Thursday Night Football, the management team at Amazon Prime Video made what was perceived by many people to be a questionable decision in pairing Kirk Herbstreit with Al Michaels. Herbstreit, a former player and insightful college football studio analyst and color commentator, worked a total of 49 assignments in the fall – 33 of those being live game commentary and 16 being appearances on College GameDay. By assimilating himself into broadcasts of National Football League games, he brought unique perspectives realized from his time covering players in college that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Moreover, he was able to implement what he observed during NFL games into his college football coverage, better informing viewers on how the game is changing and what the next generation of players needs to do to prepare.
Bilas has called some NBA games throughout his career, but his primary focus is on college basketball. Where a comparison between Herbstreit and Bilas can perhaps be drawn though is in Bilas’ coverage of the NBA Draft on ESPN through which he discusses the intersection between college and professional basketball. Additionally, he talks about the transition period and characteristics of draftees to supply context to the broadcast.
“Most of these players I see in high school – so you cover them when they’re younger and as they develop to the pro level and how they translate to the pro level,” Bilas said. “I’m not necessarily covering the NBA; you’re covering talent being drafted by the NBA.”
Leading up to the 2014-15 college basketball season, Bilas agreed to a contract extension with ESPN that resulted in him being added to ESPN Saturday Primetime telecasts of college basketball games. While he has appeared on the network’s platforms as a color commentator, studio analyst and writer, he is able to promulgate his thoughts regularly through his use of social media platforms.
Over his career, Bilas has been able to amass large followings across several different mediums despite not having a legitimate strategy in terms of creating and sharing content.
Since being purchased by Elon Musk, Twitter has endured a variety of changes, including removing its signature blue verification check marks from accounts that do not subscribe to its new “Twitter Blue” service. The forthcoming change has received plenty of criticism, being loathed by many users who state it will make it difficult to know the legitimacy of Twitter accounts.
Some people are referring to the shift in strategy as an apocalyptic occurrence that will destroy the platform and companies such as ESPN and The New York Times are declining to expense their employees’ subscriptions should they choose to purchase one. In addition, star athletes including Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have stated that they will decline to pay for verification.
Whether it is sharing opinions on college basketball, posting game highlights and other content or simply tweeting out Young Jeezy lyrics, Bilas uses Twitter in a variety of ways. He declines to engage with many users in the comment sections though, calling it an unhealthy practice, and limits his time on social media to safeguard against the ostensible dangers it presents.
“I don’t think it’s one of my main functions,” Bilas said of social media. “I enjoy it; I’m still trying to figure out some of it.”
When looking at today’s media ecosystem, virtually any user has the ability to select what, when, where and how to consume content, along with being capable of producing their own independent media and amplifying their own voice. Digital platforms have revolutionized the ways information is shared and connections are fostered and maintained among people, precipitating a culture featuring influencers: prominent users online who have built a significant following.
Even before the onset of college athletes being able to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL), they could be considered part of this group; however, their impact has surely been aggrandized since then with marketing and promotional deals to supplement their play.
In the first year of the NCAA allowing NIL deals, college athletes earned an estimated $917 million, with many of the highest earners being women in college basketball. Bilas has been outspoken against the entity’s principle of amateurism, which stated that college athletes participated in sports because of their love of the game, while coaches, executives and administrators profited from annual multibillion dollar earnings. He has expressed how the NCAA spread what has turned out to be a false narrative stating that compensating athletes would hurt women’s sports in order to protect its own interests, in addition to advocating for the educational value associated with building and managing a brand.
Bilas asserts that college athletes have always had a voice, but digital media and NIL have made it where they need not express themselves through traditional media outlets. Instead, athletes are able to instantaneously share how they feel on digital media platforms, whether that be through social media posts, live streams or podcasts. Athletes feel empowered and are arguably more direct towards their legions of fans than ever before, a trend that continues to augment in prominence across various professional sports.
“There’s no downside to this,” Bilas said. “It’s all just one, moderate step toward where athletes are going to be in the future, and that’s being compensated to their fair market value and being allowed the same economic rights as literally everyone else. They’ve never had that, and they still don’t have that.”
As March Madness comes to a close with tonight’s national championship game between the San Diego State University Aztecs and the University of Miami Hurricanes, Bilas legitimately does not have an interest in one team to win a game over another. In fact, he has not had a rooting interest in virtually any college basketball games over the last 30 years – aside from the contests his son, Anthony, played as a member of the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons – depicting objectivity and an inherent absence of bias in his work.
“When I started in broadcasting, that was the first time I had ever gone to a game where I didn’t care who won,” Bilas said. “It’s been 30 years now where I’ve gone to countless games without caring who wins, and that was a different feeling at first.”
Following the conclusion of the college basketball season, Bilas’ contract will expire with ESPN amid an organizational restructuring of The Walt Disney Company under new CEO Bob Iger, which will reportedly result in company-wide layoffs eliminating $5.5 billion in operating costs. The strategy was uncovered ahead of an annual shareholder meeting today where Iger is expected to field questions over his strategy and the company’s involvement in sports media through ESPN.
As part of the restructuring, ESPN is now considered to be its own entity and is being overseen by Jimmy Pitaro, who earned the title of chairman in the process. Since then, Pitaro has established a new executive leadership team which included naming Burke Magnus as president of programming and original content. ESPN veterans such as Norby Williamson, Stephanie Druley and David Roberts report to him in order to foster continued success and innovation pertaining to the network’s programming and future strategy.
Consumers may have a louder voice, but finding an open door into traditional media outlets can, perhaps, be considered more difficult than ever before. When he was young, Bilas received sagacious advice from his father, who operated a television sales and repair business, which stated: “The best way to get a job is [to] do the one you have.” These words encapsulate part of the reason why Bilas remains invested in the moment. He implores young people to do the same, focusing on the journey more than the destination, but being intentional in their actions and how they present themselves to an industry fueled by innovation, hard work and passion.
“I’m not looking beyond what’s in front of me today, and it doesn’t mean I don’t have plans [or that] I [have] never planned anything,” Bilas said. “I don’t think about sort of those kinds of goals and, ‘Accomplish this; accomplish that.’ I just want to accomplish enjoying what I’m doing, and if I do that, whatever opportunity comes my way, I’ll be able to evaluate it in time.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
