Before Ross Eisenberg was a managing broadcast partner for the National Basketball Association, overseeing courtside personnel for conference final games, or directing the league’s transitions into streaming partners like Amazon or NBC, he was just a Penn State student trying to figure out a way to work in sports.
Similar to many other Penn State students, Eisenberg’s path to Happy Valley wasn’t linear.
While Eisenberg didn’t initially begin his college career at Penn State, once he transferred, he found exactly what he was looking for at Happy Valley.
“I initially spent my freshman year at Roger Williams University because the idea of a massive school was intimidating, but after seeing my friends’ experience, I realized I wanted the big-time college sports environment and came to Penn State,” said Eisenberg.
At Penn State, Eisenberg gravitated towards writing classes and even enrolled in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. Classes with professors like Mike Poorman helped him establish a clear career path.
First, there was an introduction to sports writing. Followed by a photography class that provided the credentials for shooting Penn State basketball games. However, it was the 2009 men’s basketball NIT title that gave Eisenberg an experience nothing short of incredible.
“The first time I walked into the BJC with a credential, it was so cool,” said Eisenberg. “I’ve never forgotten that feeling, even all these years later.”
One of the most pivotal moments in Eisenberg’s Penn State career was a last-minute email that was posted via the Curley Center. While pulling an all-nighter studying, Eisenberg saw a call for student runners for ESPN’s College Gameday. He responded immediately and got the role.
While working behind the scenes with ESPN personnel, driving Kirk Herbstreit to the airport, and executing production logistics, “working in sports” became the ideal career for Eisenberg.
After graduating in 2010, Eisenberg reached out to a connection he made during GameDay weekend to land a project role at ESPN as a stats associate. It wasn’t the most glamorous job, as it required mainly data entry, but it was a job at ESPN, which made every day feel surreal.
“It was basically Sporcle for adults,” Eisenberg joked about the sports knowledge test required for the job.
With the specific goal of breaking into sports media, Eisenberg began looking elsewhere for jobs. Project jobs meant temporary contracts, with limited stability. At one point, Eisenberg even turned down an early offer from the NBA to pursue a full-time position at ESPN. However, this unfortunately didn’t materialize, as ESPN entered into a hiring freeze.
Four months later, Eisenberg reached out to the NBA again.
“I said, ‘Remember me? I’m the idiot who turned you down. Any chance you’re still hiring?”
They were hiring, and Eisenberg accepted a 10-month production project position. Twelve years later, Eisenberg is still there. Only now, he’s running it all.
Eisenberg’s career with the NBA has evolved alongside the league itself. Starting as a broadcast assistant at the launch of the Relay Center meant Eisenberg could take on additional responsibilities in broadcast operations.
Today, Eisenberg manages broadcast systems for the NBA, staffs national television games, oversees regional freelance crews, and serves as a courtside timeout coordinator for major broadcast networks.
This role has allowed him to sit at the scorer’s table during conference final games, serving as the NBA’s liaison with national broadcast partners, approving on-air audio, and maintaining game flow for live television viewers.
Eisenberg’s favorite game memory was working the 2018 Western Conference Finals matchup of the Houston Rockets vs. the Golden State Warriors.
“I always try to take 15 seconds,” said Eisenberg. “Just to realize where I am. If I could tell the younger version of me, he wouldn’t believe it.”
Eisenberg also spent time inside the NBA’s COVID-19 bubble, a never-before-done operation that created a college campus into a fully contained professional sports infrastructure.
“You’re sitting in what feels like a high school gym, but on TV it looks like Game 7 of the Finals. That’s a huge achievement, ” said Eisenberg.
As media watching habits evolve, so does Eisenberg’s job.
The NBA’s broadcast strategy has changed to include partnerships with Amazon and NBC, expanding games across Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming platforms.
When asked about the strategy for expanding NBA broadcast coverage and gaining more viewership, Eisenberg responded, “Throw things at the wall and see what sticks.”
From cell-phone shot games of the Summer League to sky-cam-only broadcasts that resemble NBA 2K, change is constant. Eisenberg sits at the intersection of operations, relationships, and just straight experimentation.
“It’s a relationship-building job,” said Eisenberg. “When things go wrong, you need to know exactly who to call and what to do.”
Looking back, Eisenberg credits Penn State’s high scale and professional-level athletic environment as “the perfect training ground.”
“The stakes are as high as they are anywhere,” said Eisenberg. “ But at Penn State, you’re basically working in a pro sports environment as a college student.”
More than a decade into his NBA career, Eisenberg still returns to Happy Valley for an annual football weekend with his wife, also a former Penn Stater, and their two-year-old daughter.
He has also hosted many Penn State football players at the NBA offices during career exploration trips, which expands connections among Penn State alumni working in sports.
Eisenberg’s advice for aspiring sports journalists is to get good at your craft, since anyone can learn the sport.
For Eisenberg, this meant writing. But for anyone, it could be analytics, operations, or even communications. Ultimately, a passion for sports can open the door, but it’s your skills that keep you in the room.