As the St. John’s Red Storm cut down the nets from Madison Square Garden victorious as champions of the Big East Conference, Tim Brando found himself on the proverbial sidelines. For the first time in 42 years, Brando was not broadcasting an NCAA basketball conference tournament and instead watching the action unfold from afar. Over the years working for FOX Sports, he has been behind the microphone throughout the college basketball season documenting moments with March Madness around the corner. Yet Brando has recognized the brief respite, deviating from his usual schedule as other announcers contribute to championship tournament action.
Throughout his time behind the microphone, Brando has observed the inexorable pace of change amid the industry. While he considers the craft to be a joy and voices that calling games is among the most enjoyable things in his life, he contends that the business itself is difficult. Brando has come to realize that his love for the business does not guarantee that the business will always love him back, and he has focused on executing his responsibilities with aplomb.
“I’m not a No. 1 guy, I’m not a signature voice,” Brando said. “I’ve never called a Super Bowl, never will. Never called a Final Four, never will. I’ve never called the biggest event for any network, but I have the chops to call some of the biggest events, and if one of those big boys can’t go, then I think I can give a No. 1 performance, even if I’m not the No. 1 guy.”
Environmental circumstances within sports media had diminished Brando’s assignments surrounding the NCAA Tournament in preceding years, especially once CBS Sports and Turner Sports agreed to a 15-year joint contract to broadcast the proceedings. In fact, he surmised that he would always call the NCAA regional finals but then realized the differing business interests and was subsequently affected. This time around, NBC Sports acquired media rights for five early-round and quarterfinal Big East Conference tournament games, which ultimately left Brando without an assignment.
“I think the conference tournaments are a lot more emotional and a lot more enjoyable because you’re in the same city at the same location, you’re with the teams that you’ve covered all year,” Brando said. “You know those teams. It’s not like you have to go and do a hell of a lot of homework and watch a lot of tape on teams that you’ve seen during the course of the year, and it’s not as hard of a job.”
Brando recently surpassed four decades of calling national television, a remarkable display of longevity and consistency despite a maelstrom of modifications and fluctuating consumer proclivities. When Brando was initially in conversations to join FOX Sports in 2014, he made it clear that he could fill a void on the staff in having a veteran college sports announcer. On top of that, he expressed that he was not looking to do anything but deliver for the company and felt he could assist younger talent.
“Without question, I sometimes could get caught up in the chase and forget to enjoy the present,” Brando said, “and I think probably in the time that I’ve been at FOX, the one aspect of my persona that I think has changed is that I don’t worry now anymore about where I’m going or what I’m not doing, and I think a lot of times, broadcasters in such a competitive business can get caught up in that.”
When Sean McManus became the president of CBS Sports in 1996, the company opted to hire one announcing team per location, setting up Brando to call four games in one day. Although it took a few years to master, he worked to maintain his stamina and poise by always preparing for the last game first and remaining immersed in the present moment. Brando even recommended to his producer that the team follow a similar paradigm to prevent potential oversights.
“I probably couldn’t tell you what just happened 20 minutes earlier during the live call, but my mind now has moved right to what’s next, and because I did that homework first, it’s going to come roaring back to me,” Brando explained, “and I know that, ‘Yeah, this is going to sound like I didn’t even do a game earlier today,’ or, ‘I didn’t do a football game yesterday or the day before yesterday.”
As team rosters continue to endure changes due to the transfer portal, NIL deals and fluctuating media rights, broadcasters are presented with more challenges in keeping up with all of the rosters. Rather than stressing over changes around the sport, he stays concentrated on the teams he is slated to call and properly explain pertinent moments. From listening to young play-by-play announcers, he detects occurrences when they diverge from this principle and articulate what viewers could perceive to be pablum.
“I’m thinking, ‘How many people do you think he’s really making happy with this conversation taking place while a team is trying to win a basketball game?,’ the fans watching the game,” Brando conveyed. “They’re watching the game because they either have money on it or because they’re truly big-time fans of that school, and I don’t think you’re doing a service for either one.”
Brando maintains a cadence through which he keeps listeners informed about rudimentary elements such as time and score, but he also protects against sounding mundane or banal. While he communicates his sports proficiencies to the audience, part of the approach also sets up color commentators to provide their esoteric perspectives and expertise to further supplement the game product. Having worked with several analysts over the years, he feels that they are appreciative of when he states the obvious so it can position their discourse to advance the conversations. In addition, he offers aspects of his personality without equivocation while safeguarding against drawing out his colleagues.
“I don’t give as many opinions when I’m calling the game – I’m not supposed to,” Brando said. “It’s not part of my job, but if I am, in my own subtle way, interjecting some in my call, then I think it’s going to make the broadcast team flourish.”
Brando previously worked with Spencer Tillman on college football broadcasts at CBS Sports and developed palpable chemistry evident on the airwaves. The duo ended up reuniting at FOX Sports for nine more seasons before the company reshuffled its broadcast teams last year. Whereas Brando may have taken umbrage to the change earlier in his career, he instead opted to lean into it and assist former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner become comfortable in the position.
“My career may have always been on a fast track, but I was a slow learner, and maybe after a long period of time, I finally figured out that when business decisions like that are made, it can be for your betterment too,” Brando said. “It can be for not just the good of the young talent, but in a lot of ways, the kind of move that will force me to be better at what I do.”
Brando travels the country every fall to call college football matchups, but he regards his job title as somewhat of a misnomer. With the visual aid accompanying the game call on television, he aims to reduce the verbiage while effectively aligning his analyst to penetrate beyond the superficial and decipher what is taking place. College basketball presents a similar theorem at an expeditious pace, and despite there being fewer players to remember, it is critical to have a strong understanding of the storylines.
“I do think the relationship with the analyst in basketball is huge because if two guys had the same rhythm calling the game, it’s almost like a pilot taking an airplane to 30,000 feet and getting at the cruise control and just the joy for the next two hours,” Brando said. “The game goes by so quickly, so when you’re working with someone and it’s almost like he knows where you are and you know where he is all the time, it’s just fantastic.”
Brando has a strong rapport with Donny Marshall on college basketball broadcasts, and the duo has developed synergy to the point where they can almost read each other’s minds. Marshall played five seasons in the NBA, part of which included Brando serving as a national voice for the NBA on TNT. Calling NBA games proved to be an invaluable learning experience to refine his craft, and he also garnered chances to further promote the sports on studio programs in their inceptions.
“I specialized in doing studio shows before they became iconic,” Brando said. “I was the original host of College GameDay when it was an hour long and we didn’t have quite the budget that they have today, and I did the original Inside the NBA before Charles, before Shaq. Every time I made a move, I grew from it. Every move I made, I felt like I grew from it.”
Brando is in the midst of working on a book reflecting on the triumphs and tribulations of his career, and he points to a seminal moment towards the end of his tenure at CBS Sports that he will examine in the work. Although he continued to call Sunday night college basketball games for Raycom Sports, he endured a nine-month stretch between broadcast network jobs following an abrupt exit from the company. Brando thought he would work on regional games at the SEC Network, but FOX Sports came in and gave him another chance. Even though he does not look to the immediate future, he knows that there will be another decision to make next year when his contract expires.
“I’ve never felt better, and I don’t think I’ve ever been better at what I do,” Brando said. “I just feel like I’m doing it for the right reasons and I’m enjoying it more, and as a result, I think I’m making the people around me better.”
Bringing energy and opinion to the broadcast with self-described “controlled enthusiasm,” Brando regards himself as being at a stage in his life where he wants to be the next Verne Lundquist. As one of the people he admired most working in network television, he is looking to continue exhibiting versatility calling various sports and blending information and entertainment into the equation. Despite the fact that Brando was not on the broadcast for the conference championships, he is thankful for his experiences around the game and hopes the tournament retains its current structure amid talks of potential expansion.
“This is, to some extent, a prejudicial point of view, but solely from a play-by-play man’s perspective, the excitement value in a conference tournament where the rabid fans of those schools and the fans that are generally hardcore basketball fans – if you’re going to travel with your team, you’re a hardcore college basketball fan,” Brando said. “I don’t care what league we’re talking about, and so the environment you have is just tremendous at all these conference tournaments, but none is better than the Big East.”
Thinking back on his career, Brando acknowledges that he has never had a job that did not involve a microphone and sports, a fortuitous outcome for which he considers himself genuinely blessed. Whenever fans ask him for an autograph, he implores them to keep their dreams alive and attributes his success in the business to manifesting such through an unwavering work ethic and dedication to excellence. Through it all, he is living in the present and navigating the media landscape with profound gratitude and excitement.
“I’ve never felt better, and I don’t think I’ve ever been better at what I do,” Brando said. “I just feel like I’m doing it for the right reasons and I’m enjoying it more, and as a result, I think I’m making the people around me better.”
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Derek Futterman is a former associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. Find him on X @derekfutterman.
