By ANTHONY AUSPELMYER
Contributing Writer
Less than five years ago Zach Bye was suiting up for the Golden Knights men’s basketball team as a senior forward. Today, Bye travels with the UAlbany men’s basketball team as a radio broadcaster. The transition from player to broadcaster is one many athletes make. However few make the transition as smoothly as Bye has in his first few years.
Radio was instilled in Bye at a young age. Raised in a religious home run by a single mother, the Saint Rose grad was not afforded the opportunity to watch TV. Rather than feel sorry for himself, Bye found opportunity in radio. As a kid he enjoyed listening to New York Yankees’ then radio broadcaster Michael Kay and was a frequent caller into the Jim Rome show. It would be Bye’s first love of radio that would eventually make for a great pairing with his next passion: basketball.
Standing at six feet three inches tall as a junior at Saint Rose, one would think Bye was born for the game of basketball. That was hardly the case. Bye’s basketball career got off to what many would consider a late start. By the time he was getting comfortable with his game many of his friends were already improving their skills. With less experience, the struggle for respect would become a common theme in Bye’s life both on and off the court.
Bye was well known around the Capital Region before his broadcasting days as a decorated hoops star. In high school, he led the Scotia-Glenville Tartans to back-to-back Foothills Council Championships, and at Hudson Valley Community College he set the record for rebounds in a single game, twice snatching 20. For Bye, these accolades are still held in high regard, however his proudest moments as a player came after his transfer to Saint Rose.
As a ball player in high school, Bye always dreamt of receiving a full scholarship to play the sport he loved. After his fulfilling high school career, he wasn’t getting any full rides. In an effort to stay away from community college, Bye joined best friend and high school teammate Rocco DiJohn at Hilbert College in western New York as a freshman. When he realized Hilbert wasn’t the right fit, HVCC Coach Andre Cook reached out to Bye.
“I told him that if he wasn’t getting any scholarship offers he should come to HVCC for a couple years,” Cook said. “Zach was a high energy player, a great teammate, and a great person to be around.”
Bye had been courted the year before by Cook, and was worried about his college career being “segmented”. Now in a poor position at Hilbert, he decided it would be best to see what Hudson Valley had to offer, and he calls that decision the best he has made to this point.
“It’s the best decision I ever made. Without those two seasons with coach Cook I wouldn’t have gotten the scholarship from Saint Rose,” Bye said.
After his time with HVCC, Bye was happy to accept a scholarship to play for the Golden Knights, and after receiving a medical red-shirt his first season, he played the next two with Saint Rose and was eager for what was to come next.
By now Bye had gone from new kid on the court, to title-taking, record-breaking, and paid for playing. Not only did he receive a scholarship to play at Saint Rose, but he was even paid to play semi-pro ball with the Albany Legends. Finally, Bye could rest easy as he had earned the respect he had longed for in the game of basketball.
Rather than remain satisfied, Bye looked immediately for his next battle. Maintaining an interest in radio and having gone through Saint Rose’s Communications program, Bye used his connection to the school to get his foot in the door. Just one year after playing for the Golden Knights basketball team he found himself broadcasting their home games over campus radio. This was the foundation for the transition that Bye was about to make.
Thanks to Saint Rose Bye was not only given a scholarship and an education, but the experience he needed to succeed at the next level. He eagerly describes his experience at Saint Rose with one word: “Amazing”.
Now ready to take his experience into the field, Bye started a blog. In a clever play on his last name he titled the site “byesline.com”. What started out as a canvas for Bye’s passionate opinions quickly turned into a job opportunity.
After then-local ESPN radio host Brian Sinkoff read some of Bye’s material he asked the baller-turned-blogger to be a fill-in host for his popular radio show Sound-off with Sinkoff.
“I wouldn’t have had that opportunity had I not used the resources around me to get some experience,” Bye said.
The experience was not only the time he had spent interning at Fox Sports Radio with Rodger Wyland, and the clips he had from his time at Saint Rose. His knowledge of the game of basketball as a player added an element that can’t be taught.
“There is nothing that happens in a game that I haven’t seen already,” Bye Said.
“When you hear him call a game, you can just tell he knows his stuff,” Sinkoff said.
“His basketball background is key when he’s doing hoop games, he tries to explain the game to the audience that might not have played,” Sinkoff said.
For Bye the transition from playing the game to broadcasting it has gone smoothly.
“I just try to re-wire my energy from playing the games to calling them,” he said. “I try to prepare for a game now the same way I did as a player, I do my research and get mentally prepared,”
Now having been with UAlbany for three years and called over 100 games as Rodger Wyland’s radio broadcast partner for basketball and football, Bye improves with every broadcast. He continues his search for the respect of his peers in the field, just as he did years ago on the court. The boy who grew up idolizing radio broadcasters and basketball stars has found the perfect balance of both.
