Matt D'Ambrosi: Passion is the Name of the Game

Published on July 31, 2016

Story and photo by Kelsey Snider

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – What does it mean to have passion? Passion by definition is a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something.

Matt D’Ambrosi is passionate about two things, sports and broadcasting.

“I realized, hey, why not combine these two passions, sports and broadcasting. So here I am broadcasting,” D’Ambrosi said.

D’Ambrosi grew up in Crofton, Maryland, a suburb between Baltimore and Washington D.C. He is the son of a police officer and an urban planner, and he is the oldest of three. Growing up, D’Ambrosi played a lot of sports, but it was lacrosse that he ended up taking interest to. He started lacrosse in seventh grade and played until his junior year of college at San Diego State University.

D’Ambrosi attended San Diego State University his junior and senior year. It was there where he discovered his passion for broadcasting. D’Ambrosi wrote for the student newspaper and got involved with the college radio station, and even though his athletic career may have been over, D’Ambrosi said broadcasting and writing was a way he could stay involved with sports as much as possible.

“Sportscasting gives me an opportunity to combine that passion and knowledge I have from being an athlete and the respect I have for athletes and for the process and everything that goes into it. That allows me to combine those things with broadcasting… a passion I discovered doing college radio at San Diego State,” said D’Ambrosi.

D’Ambrosi hopes to take his two passions, sports and broadcasting, and become the vice president of communications for an NBA franchise.

Text Interview:
Q: You grew up in Maryland, so tell me a little bit about how you grew up.

A: Yes, I grew up in Maryland in Crofton, Maryland. It is a suburb between Baltimore and Washington D.C. I grew up the son of a police officer and an urban planner, a city planner in Prince George’s county. I was the oldest of three. Growing up I went to private school from first through twelfth grade, and it was a great experience. I played a lot of sports growing up. I was always outside in the backyard. I started off playing soccer and baseball, and then the county that I lived in, lacrosse and football were very big. My cousins, my neighbors played lacrosse and football so I really wanted to try that. We’d be in the back yard playing those sports, not baseball or soccer so I picked up a lacrosse stick in seventh grade. I played that all the way through high school and ended up playing that in college my freshman year. 

Q: Where did you play in college?

A: I went to the University of Tampa right out of high school to play lacrosse. I had applied to colleges all over the country for a variety of different reasons, but in the end, I just couldn’t give up playing. So I went to the University of Tampa. I played lacrosse. They’re division two. They play in the Deep South Conference, and that was a great experience going down there. I met some of the best friends, of whom I still keep in contact with today. I left after my first year because I didn’t feel completely sold on everything that was going on down there and I decided to switch and return home. I went to community college for a year. Anne Arundel Community College. Knowing I had to go back to a four-year school, I worked I saved some money, and I always wanted to go to California. I actually wanted to go there out of high school, but didn’t get around to it. So I had some money saved, and I was able to apply to some schools and I ended up going to San Diego State, which is where I went for my junior and senior year. I played club lacrosse out there. Although it wasn’t NCAA, the players took it very seriously and took a lot of pride in that so I definitely respected that. I got involved in college radio, wrote for the student newspaper, and even though my athletic career, so to speak, was over, I felt that broadcasting and writing was a way to stay as much involved in sports as I possibly could. 

Q: What did you major in?

A: Communication, so no “s”. A very different field, at least my professors will tell you. My undergraduate degree was communication, which one professor said is the theory and practice of human interaction. Point being, we’ll study things like non-verbal communication, organizational communication, literally just specifically what communication is. You’re never not communicating, I think. You’re always communicating something, how about that. So for example, if you’re sleeping, you’re communicating that you’re tired, which is certainly transferable to journalism and to broadcasting because you’re communicating in those things. You’re using a lot of the things from communication. 

Q: Why sportscasting then?

A: I had mentioned it that my dream has always been to be some type of athlete. Life happened. Ended up kind of going a different route, but I felt that sports are kind of who I am because I played them for so long. I feel like I know sports and I like to talk. So sportscasting gives me an opportunity to combine that passion and knowledge I have from being an athlete and the respect I have for athletes and for the process and everything that goes into it. That allows me to combine those things with broadcasting, which is something that I like to do, which is kind of a passion I discovered doing college radio at San Diego State. 

Q: Where do you hope to end up at the end of this?

A: At the end of Newhouse, I hope to be working for a franchise to be honest with you. Maybe not directly after Newhouse, depending on how the job hunt and stuff goes, but basketball is my favorite sport. I would love to one day, I don’t think I would like to be the voice of an NBA team, but I would love to work as the vice president of communications or in a position like that for a NBA franchise kind of handling their communication. I think is definitely a career, would be a career goal. 

Audio Version