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.
Event: ESPY Awards
Location: Dolby Theatre
Hosted By: ESPN
Coverage By: Brandon Pulmano
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. It was truly an amazing event to be apart of. 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 is a testament to 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. I heard countless stories from alumni who praised Professor Cellini and his Leadership and Critical Thinking course.
His intensity reminded me of Jon Gruden, a NFL football coach known for his fiery demeanor who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl. Professor Cellini was relentless, demanding, and always on your head. Every class session felt like a episode from Hard Knocks. You always had to be locked in during his class.
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.
During the second week of class, our task was to land informational interviews. What began as following a script quickly evolved into finding my own voice. A shift that started with my very first conversation with Cindy Robinson, Senior Social Media Marketing Manager 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.
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 the 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 p.m. I had just got home from my weekly 6–10 class when my phone lit up with a message:
An invite to the ESPY Awards!
The next day, we pulled up to the venue and bypassed security entirely, walking straight to the red carpet. All thanks to Jaicee's connection with one of ESPN’s executives. As we glided past everyone in a matter of seconds, I was baffled how we got in with ease.
When I asked Jaicee how he did it, 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 we hit the red carpet.
As cameras flashed from every angle and the energy built, I started 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.
