While playing football for the Huskies, Sean Mulcahy ’04 (BUS) was a four-year starter as a defensive tackle, and a team captain during his senior year during the 2003 season when UConn began its move to the top level of Division competition. He also was one of the go-to players when reporters need a thoughtful analysis after a game.
“When I was a captain, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut,” says Mulcahy, who has worked since 2010 as a studio analyst for Big East football games broadcast on SNY, and returned to Rentschler Field as the analyst for the 2012 Blue vs. White game in April. “Reporters would come to me and I’d spill my beans.”
Despite nagging injuries during his time in Storrs, Mulcahy played in 37 consecutive games. His senior year, he had five sacks as UConn went 9-3, with that season beginning its run of success at the Division I level. The Staples High (Westport, Conn.) alum was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Browns, and spent time in training camps and exhibition seasons for six different NFL teams from 2003-07, and also with NFL Europe squads, before injuries ended his time on the field. He was inducted in 2011 to the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame.
During his conversations with reporters after playing in UConn games, Mulcahy developed relationships with Joe D’Ambrosio and Kevin Nathan of the UConn Radio Network. That eventually led to an invitation to be a spotter during Husky games in East Hartford for WTIC Radio and a guest on pre-game shows. He also served as a sideline reporter during UConn’s win over South Carolina in the 2009 Papajohns.com Bowl. Meanwhile, Mulcahy began using his degree in finance to begin working in New York City in the financial services industry.
When SNY became the television network for the Big East, the network was looking for a former player to serve as a studio analyst for football. Mike Enright, associate director of athletics for communications, recommended Mulcahy.
Last fall, he spent Saturdays in the SNY studio – which is in mid-town Manhattan and has a view of the street as part of its backdrop – working with veteran sportscaster Jonas Schwartz and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Don McPherson.
He and McPherson arrive early Saturday to review what is going on in the Big East, as well as catch up with news reports from around the conference.
“We like to talk about what’s going on in the Big East. [Don] knows what’s going on. We have a meeting and that’s our best warm-up,” Mulcahy says. “During the week I read articles and keep up with stats and watch Connecticut sports reports. My favorite thing is to compare and contrast players.”
Mulcahy says that he enjoys explaining the fundamentals of the game as a color analyst and thinks it may be something he got from his late father, Jack, a long-time business professor and dean at the University of Bridgeport.
“My dad was a teacher. I think a little of that rubbed off,” he says. “Whenever I do the color, I love explaining the fundamentals of football, especially the linemen. You can’t win the game without them. There’s an old cliché: It starts up front.”
Working with experienced broadcasters such as Schwartz and play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt, who called the spring game, has helped him to improve his broadcasting skills, Mulcahy says.
“Those guys make it easy for everyone,” he adds. “They have good questions. They’re not necessarily simple, but they make it easy to elaborate on. I do enjoy it immensely. It is a job and a tough one, but you can have a lot of fun with it because it’s something you’re covering that you love, which is sports and football. That really makes it fun.”
