Director, Digital and Media at LakePoint Sports
(Former editor/writer at Sports Illustrated and former reporter/host at Fox Sports South)
Year initiated: Winter 1998 (Pin 527)
Year graduated from BGSU and major: 2000; B.S. in Journalism
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
Originally from North Baltimore, Ohio, I moved to Bellefontaine in elementary
school. Graduated from Bellefontaine High School in 1996.
I’ve lived in Atlanta and metro Atlanta since 2005, currently living in Acworth, GA.
Jama and I were married in 2004 and have two boys, Jack (13) and Cooper (11).
Career background/highlights:
My first job was with the Bellefontaine Examiner, not one I wanted to seek out, but
my parents “suggested” I apply when there was an opening in the sports
department. I was hired there in September 2000 and stayed until March 2005,
covering high school sports, as well as getting to cover the occasional Ohio State
football or basketball game.
On a whim in January 2005 I applied for a job at Sports Illustrated for a web
editor/writer. I was stunned when they called about an interview and Jama and I
drove to Atlanta, where SI.com had offices in the CNN Center. After interviewing
they called me before I left the city and in March I moved.
I was there until 2012, covering college football, basketball and NASCAR for both
the website and the magazine. My area of expertise was the Heisman Trophy and
I became the web/mag Heisman Watchman, covering the trophy race from the summer until the ceremony, which I annually attended. I also appeared as a weekly analyst on The Big Ten Network.
In October 2012, I left SI but stayed in Atlanta and went to work for FOX Sports South. I was hired as their Digital Content Manager, but was able to expand my role to being a reporter and host/analyst on television and podcasts. I was the co-host of the popular Chopcast (covering the Braves) and wrote a book about the Braves (Tales From the Atlanta Braves Dugout) that was first published in 2016 and updated before the 2020 season. I also wrote a book about the Heisman Trophy that
was released in 2017.
After many long nights at the ballpark, along with weekends spent away from my growing boys, I decided I needed a change and in October 2019, I left FOX Sports South for LakePoint Sports as Director, Digital and Media. The sprawling sports campus is much closer to my house and affords me the opportunity to forge my own path at this complex, which is the training center of the Harlem Globetrotters and host to elite prep sports events. As a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the Baseball Writers Association of America, I’m still writing about college football and baseball for multiple websites and make weekly appearances and radio shows.
Favorite memories from your career:
Once upon a time I would have said interviewing Bill Cosby, but that obviously took a turn. Getting to cover multiple Baseball Hall of Fame inductions in Cooperstown was also pretty cool. But two things stick out the most: During my SI days, I was sent to Georgia Tech to do a feature story on Calvin Johnson before their again against Brady Quinn and Notre Dame. I was cleared to spend the day with him and met Calvin after class. He drove me around Atlanta, listening to Outkast in his gold Chrysler Sebring. When we got to Bobby Dodd Stadium for practice, he had to parallel park, misjudged the angle and drove the passenger side tires up onto the curb. He got out, looked at my side and said “good enough.” We laughed about, despite all of his accomplishments on the field, but he couldn’t parallel park.
While writing my Braves book, a close friend who is a Secret Service agent helped set me up with a phone interview with Jimmy Carter, a massive Braves fan. At the end of our talk, I mentioned to him that my son (Jack) was studying him in school and he was so excited to know I was interviewing the former president. Carter asked about Jack and how old he was. He told me “now, you don’t have to, but when I’m in town, if you’d ever like to bring your boys over, I’d love to meet them.” A few weeks later, we were standing in his office at the Carter Center and his secretary and Secret Service left the three of us alone with him in his office. It was surreal. The boys had no clue what to take to see if he would autograph, so they bought
decks of president flash cards and had him sign his. They both have them framed in their rooms and we all have a photograph of us with President Carter.
Favorite undergrad fraternity memory:
There were of course the parties, formals, etc., and I’m partial to the daily Price is Right watch parties,
but I’m kind of surprised by my answer.
They felt like such an obligation at the time, but in hindsight, I think it was our weekly chapter
meetings. You can get so involved in your own nonsense in college, but looking back it was so
meaningful to know you had that carved-out time that was just about the family you chose to spend
those years with.
Follow Cory on Twitter
@coryjmccartney
A note of thanks to Joe Reece for coordinating with Cory and writing this article.