News

June 2009

Daniel Breslauer has Rutgers scarlet coursing through his veins – he has been attending Rutgers sporting events since he was two years old.

When he realized that his dream of becoming shortstop for the Yankees was a long shot, he decided to shoot for a career in sports broadcasting. Breslauer immediately set about making it happen, learning the basics before college at 1450 AM WCTC radio based in Somerset and visiting Tim Espar, the faculty broadcast administrator at Rutgers’ WRSU 88.7 FM, when he was a senior in high school.

Breslauer’s tenacity paid off: he is now general manager of WRSU after serving as the station’s sports director and spending three years announcing more than 75 live basketball, baseball, football, soccer, and lacrosse games. Breslauer was also named the eighth best collegiate radio broadcaster in the nation by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

“What I have learned is that when you take a job at any point, it’s important to devote all the time that you can to it,” said Breslauer, who is entering his senior year as a double major in journalism and media studies and psychology. “I treated [WRSU] like it was a full-time job. I’m still a college student but in the end I treat the station like it is my job.”

Despite traveling to away games in places like Lincoln, Nebraska; Louisville, Kentucky; College Park, Maryland; and Syracuse, New York, Breslauer has managed to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.93. One of his most memorable trips as an announcer was to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “To call a game at the Dean Smith Center was like a dream come true,” he said.

Breslauer is native of Highland Park; his father is a senior administrator at Rutgers and his mother has a private psychotherapy practice. He praises School of Communication and Information teachers Steve Miller, Tim Espar, and Bruce Reynolds for teaching him the nuts and bolts of news writing and reporting. As a psychology major, Breslauer says he has gained some insight into human behavior that helps him call games more effectively.

“I don’t apply the principles consciously, but knowing things about facial expressions, body language, conditioning and learning definitely help,” he said. “You think about things like: Is this coach effectively dealing with this player? Is this a confident player? Is he responding to his coach?”

Breslauer has not ruled out graduate school after he completes his Rutgers education, but no matter what, the sports world calls him. “I love sports; it’s what I’ve built my life on. “