https://setonhall.rivals.com/
By Zack Cziryak
“Pirates Talk” isn’t just the name of Matt Loughlin’s Seton Hall-focused podcast, it’s a language he’s been speaking for years.
Loughlin, a 1979 graduate of Seton Hall University and radio play-by-play announcer for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, combined his love of Alma mater and sports into a solo venture to fill a gap in the podcast world last fall.
“Last summer, spring really, I’m sitting around saying [Head Coach] Kevin [Willard]’s done a great job, this program is on the verge of great things and there really isn’t much [podcast-wise] devoted to Seton Hall,” he said, also highlighting work done by the Left Coast Pirates podcast. “I just thought ‘Jeez, ya know there’s opportunity’… Just seeing a need, loving the school and wanting to do it.”
The original plan for Pirates Talk was to run the Seton Hall basketball-focused podcast, which consists primarily of long-form interviews, every other week in the non-conference portion of the season before shifting to a weekly basis, noted Loughlin, who had to juggle the podcast with his current responsibilities with the Devils.
“The plan all along was to begin slowly but once the Big East season came around to do it on a weekly basis,” Loughlin said. “I found that every other week was easy enough and once I got it going and into a schedule and was able to line up guests, I was able to transition to the weekly format.”
Loughlin tapped into an old Rolodex of contacts and mined new relationships for guests that ranged from former head coaches Bill Raftery and P.J. Carlesimo and current head coach Kevin Willard, to current and former players including Bryce Aiken, Romaro Gill and Andre Barrett, to media personalities such as Jim Spanarkel and Ian Eagle.
While the COVID-19 pandemic of course interrupted the Pirates’ most promising season in years this March, Loughlin was able to continue producing the podcast for a while before taking a hiatus in June to reassess things.
What had been intended as a basketball podcast, and will primarily remain a basketball podcast, expanded to include other Seton Hall sports figures such as former Yankee and Seton Hall baseball standout Rick Cerone, who spoke in an Aug. 16 episode following his announced inclusion in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It’s still a work in progress from that standpoint,” Loughlin said of expanding into other sports. “I don’t anticipate it getting to the point where it’s less basketball than it is now, but it may not be solely basketball.”
Loughlin noted that he’ll keep the same template for episode frequency in the coming months—every other week before ramping up for the Big East season—but has a few areas he’ll be focusing on this year including a “deeper dive into the stats” of his audience, which he was pleasantly surprised by.
“I don’t have hard numbers. I can just tell you from circumstantial evidence—people talking to me, people who have reacted leaving their comments after the show—I know there’s been an audience out there. Now I’ve got to figure out a way to let more people know about it,” he said.
He also intends to incorporate more game coverage and previews during the season but insists the heart of the show will remain the long-form interviews that have defined it to this point.
“I like the ability for the guests to say what’s on their mind, take their time, give us their detail. Let them speak, they are the focus, my guests are the focus. It’s not about me, you tell me your story and hopefully the listener enjoys it,” he said.
Loughlin puts the show together using a small home studio in his Westfield, N.J. before sending the episodes to Pat Christensen, a friend and sound engineer, for a final sprucing. He credits Christensen for the quality of the finished product as well as for composing the show’s theme song.
“He’s been a great help, a great resource. Recording here at my house is easy enough, but to give it that professional-quality sound, just take out some of the little flaws here and there. He’s been brilliant,” he said.
He is also quick to credit both Jerry Carino, Seton Hall beat reporter for the Asbury Park Press and Gannett, and Seton Hall Sports Information Director Thomas Chen for their support in the endeavor.
“Jerry’s been great about sharing contacts and numbers, saying ‘you should try and get this guy.’ I have to thank them, both Tom and Jerry specifically for their support because it’s just made it a lot easier.”
Paving the way for Pirates Talk was a long career in sports media that has culminated in the last 15 years as the radio play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils.
Born in Manhattan and a Jersey resident since the age of 10, the self-professed “sports nut” and radio lover, signed up to join Seton Hall’s student-run radio station WSOU the day of his last final exam his freshman year.
“I was welcomed with open arms and it didn’t take long for me to figure out that this is a cool place and I liked this,” Loughlin said.
Though he remained a student of the business school through graduation, a run-in with Bob Ley, then sports director at TV3, during his school days helped Loughlin eventually land a gig at the regional cable network as an assistant to Bruce Beck, who took over for Ley upon the latter’s departure for ESPN.
“That was my transition into television which was a career path I ultimately traveled for 25 years,” Loughlin says, recalling the position as his first career break.
From there Loughlin caught his second career break when he joined Sports Channel, which ultimately morphed into MSG2 and covered the Mets, Nets, Devils and college sports, allowing him to get his first sideline reporting position for college lacrosse and football.
By Zack Cziryak
“Pirates Talk” isn’t just the name of Matt Loughlin’s Seton Hall-focused podcast, it’s a language he’s been speaking for years.
Loughlin, a 1979 graduate of Seton Hall University and radio play-by-play announcer for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, combined his love of Alma mater and sports into a solo venture to fill a gap in the podcast world last fall.
“Last summer, spring really, I’m sitting around saying [Head Coach] Kevin [Willard]’s done a great job, this program is on the verge of great things and there really isn’t much [podcast-wise] devoted to Seton Hall,” he said, also highlighting work done by the Left Coast Pirates podcast. “I just thought ‘Jeez, ya know there’s opportunity’… Just seeing a need, loving the school and wanting to do it.”
The original plan for Pirates Talk was to run the Seton Hall basketball-focused podcast, which consists primarily of long-form interviews, every other week in the non-conference portion of the season before shifting to a weekly basis, noted Loughlin, who had to juggle the podcast with his current responsibilities with the Devils.
“The plan all along was to begin slowly but once the Big East season came around to do it on a weekly basis,” Loughlin said. “I found that every other week was easy enough and once I got it going and into a schedule and was able to line up guests, I was able to transition to the weekly format.”
Loughlin tapped into an old Rolodex of contacts and mined new relationships for guests that ranged from former head coaches Bill Raftery and P.J. Carlesimo and current head coach Kevin Willard, to current and former players including Bryce Aiken, Romaro Gill and Andre Barrett, to media personalities such as Jim Spanarkel and Ian Eagle.
While the COVID-19 pandemic of course interrupted the Pirates’ most promising season in years this March, Loughlin was able to continue producing the podcast for a while before taking a hiatus in June to reassess things.
What had been intended as a basketball podcast, and will primarily remain a basketball podcast, expanded to include other Seton Hall sports figures such as former Yankee and Seton Hall baseball standout Rick Cerone, who spoke in an Aug. 16 episode following his announced inclusion in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It’s still a work in progress from that standpoint,” Loughlin said of expanding into other sports. “I don’t anticipate it getting to the point where it’s less basketball than it is now, but it may not be solely basketball.”
Loughlin noted that he’ll keep the same template for episode frequency in the coming months—every other week before ramping up for the Big East season—but has a few areas he’ll be focusing on this year including a “deeper dive into the stats” of his audience, which he was pleasantly surprised by.
“I don’t have hard numbers. I can just tell you from circumstantial evidence—people talking to me, people who have reacted leaving their comments after the show—I know there’s been an audience out there. Now I’ve got to figure out a way to let more people know about it,” he said.
He also intends to incorporate more game coverage and previews during the season but insists the heart of the show will remain the long-form interviews that have defined it to this point.
“I like the ability for the guests to say what’s on their mind, take their time, give us their detail. Let them speak, they are the focus, my guests are the focus. It’s not about me, you tell me your story and hopefully the listener enjoys it,” he said.
Loughlin puts the show together using a small home studio in his Westfield, N.J. before sending the episodes to Pat Christensen, a friend and sound engineer, for a final sprucing. He credits Christensen for the quality of the finished product as well as for composing the show’s theme song.
“He’s been a great help, a great resource. Recording here at my house is easy enough, but to give it that professional-quality sound, just take out some of the little flaws here and there. He’s been brilliant,” he said.
He is also quick to credit both Jerry Carino, Seton Hall beat reporter for the Asbury Park Press and Gannett, and Seton Hall Sports Information Director Thomas Chen for their support in the endeavor.
“Jerry’s been great about sharing contacts and numbers, saying ‘you should try and get this guy.’ I have to thank them, both Tom and Jerry specifically for their support because it’s just made it a lot easier.”
Paving the way for Pirates Talk was a long career in sports media that has culminated in the last 15 years as the radio play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils.
Born in Manhattan and a Jersey resident since the age of 10, the self-professed “sports nut” and radio lover, signed up to join Seton Hall’s student-run radio station WSOU the day of his last final exam his freshman year.
“I was welcomed with open arms and it didn’t take long for me to figure out that this is a cool place and I liked this,” Loughlin said.
Though he remained a student of the business school through graduation, a run-in with Bob Ley, then sports director at TV3, during his school days helped Loughlin eventually land a gig at the regional cable network as an assistant to Bruce Beck, who took over for Ley upon the latter’s departure for ESPN.
“That was my transition into television which was a career path I ultimately traveled for 25 years,” Loughlin says, recalling the position as his first career break.
From there Loughlin caught his second career break when he joined Sports Channel, which ultimately morphed into MSG2 and covered the Mets, Nets, Devils and college sports, allowing him to get his first sideline reporting position for college lacrosse and football.
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