Orlando Central - Issue #9 (November 2024)

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OFM_Sullivan People Dept_1124FINAL.qxp_DEPT 10 / 17 / 24 3 : 45 PM Page 1 BY MATT COSENTINO people It seems like you’ve already heldso many different positions and covered so many different eventsduring your career even though you haven’t beendoing it for very long . Has sports broadcasting been everything that you wanted so far ? Oh yeah . It’s funny , I think in this industry you have to be so motivated and such a go - getter that I struggle at times to appreciate how far I’ve come , and my parents do a great job of telling me to look back . [ Two years ] ago , I was still in Jack - sonville and I thought there was no way I would ever make it to this big of a market in my 20s , so I definitely have to remind myself at times to appreciate how far I’ve come , still being young . But to me , I think , ‘ Gosh , I am so young and I still have so much to do , so much to accomplish . ’ So I’m constantly trying to balance the apprecia - tion but the motivation to get where I want to go . What led you down this path to begin with ? Were you a big sports fan growing up and were you an athlete yourself ? Both . I’ve been a sports nut my whole life . I’m so grateful [ because ] I know so many people who are young who have no idea what they want to do , who have changed careers three Southern times . … Since I was 5 years old , this is all I ever wanted to do . I’ve known for so long that this was the only option . I think you have to be that way in this industry , because you’re going to get bumped and bruised and thrown off the Charm path , and this has to be the only way you see it to succeed . It’s been this way forever [ with me ] . The answer is always yes . My dad always tells the story of me picking up BROADCASTER ASHLYN That philosophy has served Ashlyn Sullivan well the sports [ section in the ] newspaper , and it was during her quick and impressive rise up the ranks in the always a race to see who would wake up first , SULLIVAN , A FLORIDA demanding industry of sports broadcasting , whether it because I wouldn’t fold it correctly the way he meant accepting gymnastics instead of football as her wanted it . … That was my whole childhood . I NATIVE , HAS WON OVER first beat in college , taking freelance work covering the have a dad and a brother who are sports nuts , Korn Ferry Tour for the Golf Channel or applying for they love SEC football , so I was born and bred DEMANDING SPORTS FANS a job she wasn’t really interested in just to get her foot into that . I was going to Florida Gator football in the door with an NFL team . games when I was 5 , 6 years old , and I’ve just WITH HER DOGGED WORK It was also the approach she took in late 2022 , when been obsessed with it ever since . “ the best sports market in the country ” beckoned and ETHIC AND IN - DEPTH she left her home state of Florida to join NBC Sports You’re from South Florida , right ? Philadelphia , primarily to cover hockey , which wasn’t I am . We bounced around a good bit in Florida : COVERAGE . exactly a sport she grew up with . In the two years since , We lived in Tampa , Jacksonville , South Florida , she has already won over the notoriously brutal Philly and my dad now lives in Georgia . … We sports fans , who can be just as hard on the people who cover their beloved teams as they are on the bounced around a good bit in the Southeast . players , coaches and general managers . A host for the network’s Philadelphia Flyers coverage who conducts live intermission interviews Wasthe experience you received in college instru - as well , Sullivan also co - hosts Birds Huddle , a talk show centered on the Philadelphia Eagles , and mental to your development as a broadcaster ? provides additional reporting from practices and games . Viewers appreciate not only her pleasant Big time . My dad went to the University of demeanor and knowledge of the teams , but also the clear preparation she puts in behind the scenes . Florida , so I always wanted to go there . I tell a Sullivan has certainly come a long way from the little girl who used to race her father to the sports lot of guys and gals who call me now and want page each morning before honing her on - camera skills at the University of Florida and during a six - to do this [ job ] , in my opinion you have to go year stint as a team reporter for the Jacksonville Jaguars . to a big - time school with big - time college ath - She spoke with Orlando Family Magazine about her adjustment to the Philadelphia region , the letics , because of the opportunities you get right next steps in her career and why Erin Andrews is still an important mentor to this day . away at 18 years old to be on the field for a 34 ORLANDO FAMILY november 2024 ORLANDOFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM

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OFM_Sullivan People Dept_1124FINAL.qxp_DEPT 10 / 17 / 24 3 : 45 PM Page 2 ASHLYN SULLIVAN Florida Gator football game . A lot of people don’t get those opportunities . I know how much harder it is now to get into these big state schools , but we were so lucky and grateful to have an ESPN station on campus . Gator Vision , ESPN Gaines - ville , getting those reps right away when we were young [ was huge ] . I cringe now looking back at my col - lege tape , but I was at least getting reps and building this [ skill ] , and a lot of times kids don’t start doing this until they’re 22 or 23 . Sadly , they’re behind the eight ball with these guys and gals who are going to big - time schools now . It seems like you jumped at every opportunity that was presented to you , whether during college or right after your graduation . Your answer is always yes . You’re never going to make any money at first , and that’s OK . When I was in college , I went to Steve Russell , who was our sports director , on the very first day of classes . I was 18 years old and I said , ‘ I want to work Florida Gator football . ’ He said , ‘ Great , so do 30 other people . Why should I give it to you ? ’ So my first beat was actually gymnastics . I knew nothing about gymnastics , but it was funny because it was the first sport I covered and they ended up winning the national championship that year . That was honestly one of my fondest memories , and by the time my sophomore year rolled around , I was able to be placed on football . You don’t get the job you want right away , and I think that’s a misconception in this industry , that you just arrive and show up . No one sees the 30 steps before that . One of the big breaks in your career was working as a team reporter for the Jacksonville Jaguars , where you served in many different roles . Was that a rewarding experience for you ? Oh my gosh , yes . I look back so fondly on the team and everything . … There was a seasonal broadcasting assistant position that I applied for and thought nothing of it . There was no promise of being on camera ; it was logging footage , labeling sacks , labeling interceptions , wrapping camera cords , shooting press conferences — nothing that I wanted to do , but I saw it as hope - fully an in to joining an NFL team . I got it , and I just bugged the heck out of them every day to put me on camera . They finally did with little assignments , and it grew into the team reporter role . I loved being part of a team . You really didn’t , but you felt like you had an impact on the wins and the losses , you were traveling with the team , getting to know the players , eating lunch with them . It was a really cool experience , and I feel like it helps me now , being on the other side of it , because I know how to treat these ath - letes ; I know how to talk to these athletes . These guys are human and I think we need to treat ORLANDOFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM november 2024 ORLANDO FAMILY 35

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