Since its founding in 2007, the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network has developed some of the best young broadcasters in the Northeast Ohio area. SIBN alumni have broadcasted and worked for organizations such as the MLS, ESPNU, FOX Sports, the Big East Digital Network, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Cleveland Browns, the Big Ten Network, Westwood One and 92.3 The Fan.
Read the success stories of SIBN alumni below, and contact moderator Joe Mertens at jmertens@ignatius.edu to be connected with any of the alumni listed below.
Brendan Gulick '09
Gulick founded the SIBN during the 2007-2008 basketball season with Declan Murray '09 and Anthony Valletta '09 and broadcast 50 basketball and football games over his last two years as a student at Saint Ignatius before moving on to John Carroll University. As a Blue Streak, Gulick spent four years in the Sports Information Department, served as the WJCU Sports Director, and broadcast over 250 live events. In his time since graduating from John Carroll in May of 2013, Gulick has been behind the mic for a wide variety of teams and organizations, including the NCAA, the University of Pittsburgh, Baldwin Wallace University, Spectrum Sports Ohio, the National Women’s Soccer League, the United Soccer League, the Delmarva Shorebirds, (Class A Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles), and University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks basketball.
Gulick is now the publisher, managing editor, and beat reporter for the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sports Illustrated at BuckeyesNow.com. He's also a radio host at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland. He currently resides in the Cleveland area.
Mike Watts '11
Following several successful years with the SIBN, Mike Watts '11 has served as the play-by-play voice for a variety of events on digital, regional, and national networks, as well as a PA Announcer at the legendary Madison Square Garden. Watts has called football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, and lacrosse at the collegiate level for the Atlantic 10, Big East, Patriot League, SEC, and ACC, in addition to international soccer competitions for ESPN 3 and CONCACAF. Watts is a 2015 graduate of Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business and won the 2014 Marty Glickman Award from its highly regarded radio station, WFUV-FM.
Watts currently serves as a play-by-play voice for USL and NWSL soccer, among several other roles, including the Cincinnati Bengals' preseason voice. In March 2024, Watts would broadcast Inter Miami CF and Orlando City on FOX. Watts has also broadcasted NFL football on Westwood One on CBS Sports Radio. He lives in New York.
John Fanta '13
After his outstanding SIBN career, which included two years as President of the club, John Fanta '13 furthered his education and pursuit of a career at Seton Hall University. At SHU, Fanta served as the main broadcast personality on the Pirate Sports Network as well as a play-by-play commentator on 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall University's radio home.
Fanta's work at Seton Hall led him to opportunities with the BIG EAST Conference. Fanta formerly worked as a sideline reporter for FOX Sports on BIG EAST Women's Basketball games and a wide variety of BIG EAST Olympic sports and serves as one of the lead voices on the BIG EAST Digital Network. During the conference's famous men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden, Fanta hosted the post game show from the floor of MSG. Fanta covered Seton Hall's BIG EAST Men's Basketball title in 2016. He then went on to cover the 2016 Final Four in Houston, Texas.
Currently, Fanta hosts his own show on the BIG EAST Network, the BIG EAST Shootaround. Notably, he serves as a lead play-by-play voice for College Basketball on FOX, covering some of the most noteworthy men's and women's games weekly.
Fanta can also be found on NBA TV calling NBA G-League games as he serves as a play-by-play voice for NBA TV.
Miles McQuinn '13
Miles began his Saint Ignatius career as an athlete with the varsity hockey team under coach Pat O'Rourke '90 before joining the SIBN his senior year. During his three years with the Wildcat hockey program, Miles was a two-time captain and graduated as the second-leading scorer all-time. In the spring of his senior year, Miles joined the SIBN as a color analyst alongside John Fanta '13 and Greg Ziton '13 for the 2013 state runner-up baseball team.
During his time as a student at The Ohio State University, Miles was the president of Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio, the student radio home of the Buckeyes. Throughout his time at OSU, Miles enjoyed internships with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League, the Columbus Clippers, AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and the Big Ten Network Student U program. He was awarded the 2016 Ohio Society of Professional Journalists award for Best College Sports Writing for his work with The Lantern, OSU's student newspaper. After graduating from OSU, Miles worked for Ohio State Athletics before accepting a job in social media with the Cleveland Browns.
Miles is now the social content specialist at Tar Heel Sports Properties with Learfield/IMG College and a live social contributor to the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL.
Mac Robinson '14
Mac Robinson was a key member of the SIBN as a statistician for the Baseball team during his time at Saint Ignatius High School. He would come in with up-to-date stats and assist the baseball broadcasters on air.
After his time at Saint Ignatius, Robinson became a social media content creator, writing stories for the BrownsWire, covering the Cleveland Browns. In 2018, Robinson became an Executive producer for content with the Lake County Captains. After graduating from Ohio Media School, Mac would get a position with Entercom, covering Northeast Ohio sports for 92.3 TheFan, having stints as a producer and on-air talent. After a year in Minnesota, Mac returned to Cleveland and is back with 92.3 TheFan on The Afternoon Drive as an Audio Producer.
