“28 years in the making, the New York Liberty are WNBA champions.”
That was the call made by Ryan Ruocco as a thrilling, historic WNBA season ended on Sunday night, when the Liberty toppled the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the Finals at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center—the first title for one of the league’s original franchises.
Ruocco, a 2008 Fordham graduate, is a lead play-by-play announcer for WNBA, NBA, and women’s college basketball games on ESPN, and he and color commentator Rebecca Lobo have called all the WNBA Finals games for the network since 2013.
“This was our 12th Finals together,” Ruocco said, “and to get a chance to be the soundtrack of this moment in women’s basketball, it feels like a dream come true.”
The moment he references is one of great growth for the league, with the past season seeing increases in TV ratings and game attendance thanks to veteran stars like Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson and rookie phenoms like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. To cap it off, fans were treated to a dramatic Finals series that included an overtime final game and a stunning game-winner from Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu in Game 3—a contest that had Ruocco “practically losing his voice thanks to all the huge shots” but earning praise from fans and critics.
“I was so elated and stunned that this game has given us even more excitement, even more drama,” Ruocco said about calling Ionescu’s game-winner. “Because it felt like the Finals just kept outdoing itself.”
A Legacy of Sports Broadcasting Excellence
Ruocco got his start in broadcasting at WFUV—part of a long list of Fordham alumni who learned the ropes at the University’s public media station and have gone on to great success in the business, from Vin Scully to Mike Breen.
In 2019, Ruocco told Fordham Magazine that working under the mentorship of former WFUV executive sports producer Bob Ahrens made his career possible.
“It’s this simple,” Ruocco said. “If I did not go to Fordham and work at WFUV, I would not be here doing what I’m doing today. Period.”
Looking ahead, he sees only continued growth for the WNBA. And he put in a huge endorsement for checking out a New York Liberty game in person.
“I think the atmosphere at Barclays Center for Liberty games is as good as or better than any atmosphere for basketball in the country,” he said. “There’s a sense of community and jubilation and fun, in addition to the passion. It feels like a party where everybody’s invited and everybody’s welcome.”
