Ahead of the Knicks-Spurs championship series, Forbes profiled Fordham University alumnus Mike Breen, the longtime NBA Finals play-by-play voice, tracing how his decision to attend Fordham proved pivotal to his broadcasting career and lifelong friendships. The story also offers a broader look at how the University has launched the careers of several prominent sportscasters.
As a senior in high school, Mike Breen applied to three colleges. He didn’t get into his first choice. On a visit to another, he knew it wasn’t the right fit. That’s why Breen ended up at Fordham University, about a 10-minute drive from his home in Yonkers, N.Y., even though he always thought he would go further away to school. Turns out, that choice played a pivotal role in his highly successful career and to lifelong friendships.
Breen, who turned 65 last month, is one of many Fordham alums who have had success in sports broadcasting, a source of pride for the Catholic school in the Bronx, N.Y., 15 miles from Madison Square Garden, where Breen will call Games 3 and 4 next Monday and Wednesday nights.
At Fordham, Breen called football and basketball games on WFUV and occasionally hosted One on One, which remains a fixture on the station. He even served as a DJ, including on Dec. 8, 1980, the night Beatles’ singer and guitarist John Lennon was murdered.
