Christian Fauria leads Bryant students at Super Bowl Radio Row

SAN FRANCISCO — Christian Fauria has distinct expertise navigating the chaos and hype of a Tremendous Bowl from a few completely different views.

4 of his 13 seasons as an NFL tight finish had been spent with the Patriots, the place he was a part of their back-to-back championships in 2003-04.

In his second profession in sports activities media, which included a run as a weekday host at WEEI from Might 2014 to August 2024, he skilled it from Radio Row, a loud maelstrom of sports activities radio packages, podcasts, TV exhibits, and relentless product promotion within the week main as much as the Tremendous Bowl that’s crammed into a big conference middle that one way or the other isn’t almost massive sufficient.

The latter, as anybody with a shred of widespread sense absolutely would guess, was significantly much less satisfying than the previous.

“I really grew to hate the Tremendous Bowl expertise, Radio Row, all of that,” stated Fauria. “All people desires to get within the get together. All people desires a ticket. The visitors is a nightmare. You possibly can’t get reservations wherever. It was simply an excessive amount of in a couple of alternative ways.”

And but right here he’s, again on the Tremendous Bowl LX media headquarters at San Francisco’s Moscone Middle West, and for a really cool purpose. In his burgeoning new profession instructing sports activities media at Bryant College, Fauria is doing one thing most devoted lecturers do: he’s placing what’s finest for his college students above his personal preferences.

Fauria, whose official title in Smithfield, R.I., is “professional-in-residence” — division chair Chris Morse says, “You possibly can name him Professor Fauria. He loves that.” — has introduced 10 of his college students to San Francisco and Radio Row this week to achieve what Morse calls experiential training, a precedence at Bryant.

The scholars are producing their three radio exhibits — which stream on WJMF.bryant.edu and BryantSportsIndustries on YouTube — stay from Radio Row. “The category known as Superior Sports activities Broadcasting,’’ stated Fauria, “however I name it ‘Bryant goes to the Tremendous Bowl.’

“I figured, ‘Properly, if we’re going to be on this area and had been going to compete with among the larger universities and their broadcasting faculties, we have to stand out and present why we’re particular and why we’re completely different.’ How will we try this? We elevate cash [in this case, through a fundraiser] and go to Radio Row. As a result of that’s the place everyone is.”

Fauria, who began instructing at Bryant final spring, has a historical past in media that dates to properly earlier than his time at WEEI.

“After I got fired from WEEI in August 2024, I wished to do one thing completely different. The one factor I do know higher than soccer, fairly frankly, is broadcasting. I labored for well-known L.A. sports activities anchor Fred Roggin again in NBC in Los Angeles proper out of highschool. I used to be his intern. I used to be 18 years outdated. I don’t suppose he remembered me till I prank referred to as him for a bit at WEEI again in 2018. He was not amused.”

Such hijinks had been a part of Fauria’s easygoing on-air persona. Maybe WEEI listeners who keep in mind the working joke that he was simply distracted, like a canine recognizing a squirrel, can be stunned at his profession pivot into training.

However he’s critical about this. He linked with Bryant earlier than final spring after writing up a 16-week syllabus for a complicated sports activities broadcasting course, which he despatched to eight faculties within the Northeast. Solely Harvard didn’t reply.

Morse, the division chair, was intrigued, and thru a number of conversations helped Fauria form his function and curriculum.

“Christian form of fell into our lap,” stated Morse. “He was searching for a change of tempo, to be one thing like extra of a coach or mentor, and we had been searching for any individual who was linked. We form of got here up with the concept that we have to get college students that additional data from somebody who has skilled it.”

Fauria’s class this yr developed their three exhibits — titled “No Huddle,” “The 4 Clever Males,” and “Past The Row” — starting in September. Fauria used his NFL contacts to get a spot on Radio Row because the end result to their onerous work. Bryant’s setup is located close to Ithaca Faculty, Marist, Syracuse, and different faculties with extra established broadcasting packages.

It’s firm the Bryant college students instantly show they belong in. “No Huddle” hosts Aurora Pedwell, Chris Sanders, and Luke O’Brien, all juniors, banter effortlessly and with the cadence of pros. It’s gorgeous how polished they’re already.

When journalist and hot-take artist Rob Parker, a good friend of Fauria’s who used to battle with him on ESPN’s “First Take,” comes on as a visitor, Pedwell seems to catch him off-guard by questioning his long-established (and ridiculous) stance that Tom Brady is a cheater who must be thought-about the Lance Armstrong of the NFL.

“This opinion is so outrageous that I’ve to push again on it,’’ says Penwell. “You actually suppose Tom Brady grew to become Tom Brady due to Deflategate and that stuff?”

Parker appears to be like impressed.

“I’m going to get grilled right here,” he says.

On the finish of the dialog, Parker declares victory, as hot-takers all the time should. Fauria jokes, “If that’s the case, I’ve failed as a professor.”

However he has not. All three hosts had been ready and unintimidated. After the present is over, Fauria gathers his college students and goes over what labored and what didn’t, a typical post-show assembly. He notes that they did a easy job scheduling adjustments and sound points on the fly, the sensible expertise that may turn out to be useful down the street.

He closes with a reality his college students deserve to listen to.

“I’m actually pleased with you guys,” he stated.

Similar to that, all of them, even Fauria eventually, solid a pleasant reminiscence from Radio Row.