If you are a Philadelphia Sports Fan – a true Philadelphia sports fan – then you listen to ESPN 97.5 Fanatic. And if you’re listening on the weekend and hear the name and voice of Jason Ashworth, you are listening to a proud member of Suskie’s Class of 1999. Jason recently won that station’s Dream Job contest with the grand prize of hosting a weekend sports talk show in one of the nation’s largest media markets. And (pardon us for being sappy) Jason’s path to his personal brass ring is a case study in not giving up on a dream.

For Jason, that path began as a toddler, when he picked up a ball and began throwing it around. “From as early as I can remember, I knew that I wanted to do something in sports,” he recalls. “I just didn’t know exactly what it was going to be. It’s funny how things work out.”

As a Warrior, he was a good student, worked on the yearbook staff, and served on class council, but admittedly spent most of his energies on gym floors and athletic fields, participating in varsity football, baseball, basketball and golf. His passion for competition is with him to this day, leading to participation in Philadelphia’s most competitive adult baseball, basketball, football, and softball leagues.   He describes himself as a “30-year old gym class hero with a knack for injury!”

Strangely enough, another passion was born at Susquehannock in the unlikely act of working the morning announcements, initially spoof promotions for the yearbook. “I discovered that when I got in front of a microphone, I lit up.” He enjoyed the experience so much that he enrolled at West Chester University as a theater major, even though his busy sports schedule had prevented him from participating in high school drama. He later transferred to Penn State and pursued a degree in telecommunications/sports broadcasting. He developed a specific interest in sports talk radio and television, serving as host of the campus sports televised show, In The Game, as well as a sports talk radio show on The Lion 90.7.

When he graduated in 2003, he took a job with Hoop it Up, a 3-on-3 national touring basketball tournament, as the assistant tour manager. His job was to travel the country, set up the event and even serve as emcee. It was during this time that he entered the ESPN Dream Job event, a national competition for the next SportsCenter anchor, placing fourth out of 13,000 entries. Although not earning the grand prize, his notoriety and credentials earned him a job on air at Fox 43 in York and later as a producer with Comcast Sportsnet in Philadelphia.

Then, he describes a self-imposed reality check and need for a job with regular hours and living wage. In 2008, he combined his knowledge and love of sports with his outgoing personality to secure a job as sales manager for the Wilkes-Barre Pioneers, an arena football league franchise. He was so successful in this endeavor that the club’s owner gave Jason the job as national sales representative at one of his other companies, Futura Healthcare. Although his sales career was skyrocketing, Jason still wanted something that involved a microphone so he worked weekends as the on field emcee – the guy who got the crowd excited and handled all on-field promotions – for both the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pioneers and Philadelphia Soul.

In 2011, he heard about another Dream Job competition, this time at ESPN’s Philadelphia affiliate 97.5 Fanatic. Having already gone through the dream job experience in 2004 at the national level, he was reluctant to enter, but at the last minute submitted what he describes as a recorded “90 second rant,” doing so only to ensure having no regrets about a missed opportunity. To his near amazement, he was picked as a top-10 finalist from more than 600 entries, earning him the opportunity to be on air for an hour with a field later narrowed to five, then two, and eventually finding himself as the grand prize winner. He now co-hosts a weekend talk show on his favorite topic – Philadelphia sports.

He still keeps his day job at Futura Healthcare, but he hopes for a full-time career in sports talk broadcasting someday, and we have no doubt that, with his passion and obvious gift, he will succeed.  You can be sure we will be a hearing a lot more from Jason Ashworth ‘99, the guy who lights up with a microphone in his hand. You can follow him on twitter @Jason_Ashworth and listen to his broadcasts remotely on the Website, 975TheFanatic.com.

Thanks Jason for making us Warrior Proud.