Strategic communication degree and experiential learning opportunities at OHIO led Brooke Balzano to her dream job with the Miami Dolphins

After hosting two home games in five days to open the 2024 season, Miami Dolphins Communications Coordinator Brooke Balzano, BSJ ’20, reflected on what it’s been like to live out her dream as she enters her fifth year working in the NFL.

“No two days are ever the same working in the NFL,” said Balzano. “Every day is something different between the offseason, training camp and the season, but we fall more into a rhythm once the season officially starts in September. When we’re in season, my day-to-day consists of working on weekly game publications, facilitating media availabilities and transcribing press conferences to distribute to the media. What I love most about my job is all the different people I get to work with and the impact you can have.”

For Balzano, working for the Dolphins is a dream come true. She knew from a very young age that she wanted to pursue a career related to the NFL.

“My parents are big Dallas Cowboys fans, and when my mom was pregnant, they made an agreement that I would be named Dallas if I was born on Thanksgiving. I was born two days earlier, so instead I came home from the hospital on Thanksgiving in a Cowboys onesie and ‘watched’ the game with my parents,” Balzano said with a laugh. “I was quite literally born into football fandom. My dad suffered a back injury in 1987, so instead of him showing me how to play sports in the front yard, he taught me all about football in our living room each Sunday. We bonded over football and from there, it was history.”

Balzano grew up in North Haven, Connecticut and originally came to Ohio University because of the reputation of the journalism and sports management programs.

“I wanted to be the next Erin Andrews,” said Balzano. “When I was growing up, she was really the only female representation I saw in the NFL.”

But it wasn't long after Balzano started at OHIO that she realized she didn't have to be an on-air reporter to work in the NFL. 

“During the first semester of my freshman year, a reporter for ESPN came to speak to my Journalism 1010 class,” said Balzano. “He had multiple stops at local outlets before finally getting to ESPN, and he talked about how challenging his experience was to get there. I already knew I would face my own challenges working in a male-dominated field, so that lecture made me reevaluate exactly what I wanted. The one thing I was certain of was that I wanted to work in the NFL, so that led me to see what careers there were working for a team instead.”

Balzano switched her track to strategic communications and found her career pathway. She quickly got involved with the student organization, 1804 Communication. The entirely student-run public relations firm operates as a subsidiary of the Hugh M. Culbertson chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and is also a PRSSA nationally affiliated, student-run firm through PRSSA National’s standards. The firm serves regional and national clients and provides students with professional experience to prepare them for future internships and employment opportunities.

“I joined 1804 Communication as a sophomore and worked in client services, where I was able to apply what I was learning in the classroom to a real-life scenario,” said Balzano. “I started working for OHIO Athletics in the communications department halfway through fall semester of my sophomore year. The advantage of going to a MAC school like OHIO was that I could gain hands-on experience working with teams and learn the complexities that come with this field while I was still in school.”

Despite not knowing much about basketball, Balzano started with OHIO Athletics working men’s and women’s basketball games.

“I started in November at the beginning of basketball season – a sport I wasn’t super familiar with. I learned a lot about brand voice, the style of writing you use for team publications and what it was like to work with the media,” said Balzano. “In game, I ran the social media accounts for men’s and women’s basketball and then would write game recaps and transcribe press conferences postgame. My junior year, I worked with the football team and even had the opportunity to travel to a few road games. I learned so much about what went into making game day happen and what it was like to work for a single team.”

After graduation, Balzano began her NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, where she spent two years as a public relations intern. As her internship was ending, she hoped to find her next opportunity in a place where she could learn from other female leaders in the NFL. She connected with Anne Noland, current Vice President of Communications for the Miami Dolphins, who was one of only two female PR directors in the league.

“That conversation led me to an opportunity with the Miami Dolphins as part of their Leadership Rotational Program, where I was able to rotate through three different departments – communications, human resources and corporate partnerships – to develop a greater understanding of all the moving parts that make the organization succeed and become more well-rounded myself,” said Balzano.

In July 2023, Balzano was placed full-time as communications coordinator, where she supports the communications efforts of both the football and corporate sides of the business.

“This is my dream and I’m loving every second of it.”