From the Classroom to the Red Carpet: Inside My ESPN Journey.

Written By: Brandon Pulmano

Founder | Sideline Society Media

Brandon Pulmano photographed at the ESPY Awards afterparty in Los Angeles.

Brandon Pulmano, University of San Francisco Sport Management graduate student, poses on the red carpet prior to the ESPY Awards.

ESPN’s Jaicee Christian and Brandon Pulmano step onto the red carpet ahead of the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

Sports media personality Rachel DeMita and Brandon Pulmano make a red carpet appearance.

I didn’t just get invited to the ESPY Awards I built my way into the room.

Being invited to attend the ESPY Awards was a surreal experience one I will always remember. More importantly, I was able to experience and observe it through the lens of a media voice.

Becoming the first student from the University of San Francisco Sport Management program to walk the red carpet at such a high profile event reflects the power of strategic networking, perseverance, and the blueprint I committed to from day one.

But the real story isn’t just about being there, it’s about how I got there.

It started on July 16, 2024, during my second week at the University of San Francisco’s Sport Management Master’s Program under Rich Cellini. A professor whose reputation felt almost mythical until you experienced it firsthand.

His intensity reminded me of Jon Gruden, the coach who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl, relentless, demanding, and always on you.

Professor Cellini has a teaching style that pushed you to be comfortable being uncomfortable. He constantly challenged students, eliminating bad habits like saying “umm,”while public speaking and demanding a level of presence and accountability I had never seen before from a professor.

Some students dropped out, but those who stayed walked away with lessons that will last a lifetime both professionally and personally. Professor Cellini is the kind of coach who challenges you in a way that ultimately brings out your best.

More than anything I came away with a clear understanding that networking in the sports industry requires resilience, persistence, perseverance and the ability to handle rejection while staying true to who you are.

That same week, we were tasked with landing informational interviews and what started as following a script quickly evolved into finding my own voice beginning with my first conversation with Cindy Robinson at ESPN.

That one conversation opened the door to a growing network that included Alan Fegley, Patrick Truby, Alex Park, and Ricky Lee through the Asian American Journalists Association. This led to my selection for ESPN’s Digital Media School Outreach Mentorship Program, where I’m mentored by Alanis Bayulot.

Over time I connected with more than 20 professionals across ESPN.

But more than the names or the opportunities, it was the process that mattered learning how to build real relationships, how to stay consistent, and how to show up as myself in every conversation.

Because in this industry it only takes one connection to change everything and I was starting to realize I was building toward something bigger.

That momentum carried forward into one of the most meaningful relationships I built with Jaicee Christian. At the time he was a producer at ESPN and is now a content associate. Jaicee is one of those most down to earth people I have met in the sports industry.

I connected with him in August 2024 and stayed in touch through real, genuine conversations that felt more like talking to friends back home than traditional networking.

Months later in the summer of 2025 when he mentioned he’d be in Los Angeles, I reached out to grab lunch and that simple message led to the craziest text I’ve ever received.

It was 11 PM, mind you I had just gotten home from my weekly 6–10 class, and I saw the message…

An invite to the ESPY’s Awards!

When we arrived at the venue we bypassed security and walked straight to the red carpet thanks to Jaicee’s connection with Don Brooks a corporate partnership manager at ESPN. I was baffled at how we bypassed eveyone in mere seconds.

When I asked how, he said “when you know the right people, you can go anywhere you want B.” That moment stuck with me ever since and gave me chills down my spine.

As cameras flashed from every angle and the energy built, I found myself meeting people like Da'Vinchi from the hit series Black Mafia Family, produced by 50 Cent. As well as sports television host, producer, and digital content creator Rachel DeMita.

In that moment I witnessed firsthand how sports, media, and culture collide in one space. More than anything that night left me with a lasting realization.

Access in this industry isn’t given it’s built through relationships, consistency, and being ready when opportunity shows up.

From the classroom to the red carpet, that journey is exactly what Sideline Society Media represents.