Zachary Bianco ’25 and Brayden Cutler ’25 on Broadcasting Sports Games for the University

Zachary Bianco ‘25 is a communications major with a double concentration in media arts and analysis as well as journalism. His goal is to work in sports broadcasting, although he’s also interested in general TV production, whether it’s sports, entertainment, or news related.

Brayden Cutler ‘25, a political science major, minoring in history with a concentration in public administration aspires to be involved with local government, although he maintains an interest in sports broadcasting, along with Bianco. The two are student commentators for campus games, with Bianco serving as the main play-by-play voice and Cutler acting as a main color commentator, along with their peer, Adam McKay.  

When he was in middle school, Bianco visited a local television station and with help from his class, collaborated in creating a school television show. This opportunity sparked an interest in the field, and only intensified later on in high school, when Bianco’s video production class was asked by the station to broadcast basketball games. With a four-person camera and audio crew, Bianco directed production.

David Caspole, Associate Director of Athletics at Westfield State, then reached out to Bianco due to the unique nature of the collaboration and offered a similar job, which Bianco quickly accepted. “It’s a win-win, right? It’s sports. It’s broadcasting. I love both,” he said. “So, I just took it, and it’s been great ever since.”

Cutler, as Bianco’s suitemate in University Hall, initially signed on after staffing shortages required additional crew members. Cutler also has helped organize and produce talent shows put on by his former high school in Thompson, Connecticut. As an avid sports fan, Cutler said that broadcasting “doesn’t feel like a job”, since he gets to watch the University’s teams play for free. “It just feels like I’m going to talk to a bunch of people that want to hear me talk about sports,” he said.

Despite doing sports broadcasting for several years, Bianco admitted that he still feels a rush of nerves and anticipation before broadcasts. “This is live,” he said. “You’re going to go talk in front of hundreds, or depending on the sport, thousands of people. It’s cool. Knowing that you’re going to talk about sports and the voice of the Owls… for me, it’s exciting.”

“If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” Bianco added. “Although, we do preparation days in advance for every game, and we write a script for our free game stand-ups. We also compile statistics, and we have to make sure that everyone knows how to correctly pronounce people’s names, especially for the away teams.”

The men’s basketball championship game against Worcester State University during his freshman year was Bianco’s favorite event. While operating one of the cameras, he said that the stands were packed, leading to an “extremely loud” environment. “My heart was racing the entire game, just with that atmosphere. It was amazing. You never know what you’re doing to see. This job is a job of ‘firsts.’”

For Cutler, his favorite event this year was the men’s football game against UMass Dartmouth, when the game was pushed into overtime. “Everyone in the crowd was going crazy,” he said.

While broadcasting, both students are intentional about keeping their broadcasts accessible, as listeners may not always be from the University. “I try to bring the excitement to everyone watching from home. I want them to feel like they’re at the game in person. If there’s a big play by us or the other team, I still try and keep that same hype going, because I know we’re not just getting Owls fans that tune in. I try to keep it positive on both ends.” Bianco has also taken to promoting the games on his own social media channels, making graphics by himself to accompany game schedules and details.

“You have to remember that it’s students and their families that tune into this,” Cutler said. “I feel like me and Zach have gotten there chemistry-wise. We’ve done so many games together that I feel we can anticipate what we’re about to say and what’s about to happen. It’s such a fast-paced environment and everything is different at every second.”

With an internship in the spring semester in Pittsburg, Bianco will be helping at a radio and television station and be able to work for his hometown. In addition to broadcasting sports, he will take part in editing and producing live studio shows. “This has been a great experience, especially for what I want to get into with not just production, but live shows as well.”

Although Cutler has enjoyed broadcasting, he plans to pursue other career options more related to his major in addition to serving as Vice President of the class of 2025. “I might not have had this experience if I’d gone to a bigger school,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every part of it. Westfield is a lot more interconnected as a community, so I’m very grateful for that.”