Class of 2025: Giovanni Heater finds purpose in passion for sports broadcasting

Name: Giovanni Heater

College: Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Major: Sports media and analytics

Hometown: Syracuse, New York

Plans after graduation: Find a landing spot to start igniting professional career with the long-term goal of being an every-sport broadcaster

Favorite Hokie memory: Traveling with the 3304 Sports crew to cover Virginia Tech sports on the road

Experiential learning is the hallmark of an education in the School of Communication. For Heater, it’s the reason he’s set to graduate as one of the nation’s top collegiate sports broadcasters. Taking advantage of every opportunity inside and outside of the classroom has helped prepare him for a successful career in sports broadcasting.

“There’s so much opportunity to grow, develop, learn and get reps right from the get-go at Virginia Tech,” Heater said. “You have this short, four-year window to develop and become the best you can possibly be, and between the mix of people and the opportunities, Virginia Tech is the best place to make that happen.”

Chasing a dream in Blacksburg

Listening to the radio in the back seat of his grandparents’ car is when Heater fell in love with sports broadcasting. On the way home from Syracuse University lacrosse games, Heater and his grandparents would tune into “The Double Overtime,” Syracuse’s student-produced postgame show. By the time he was 8 years old, he was calling into the show’s radio line to chime in on air.

“I just remember sitting in the car with my grandpa and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world,” Heater said. “They were talking about the game, and I knew all the players and exactly what they were talking about. I was only 8 years old, but it all just made so much sense to me.”

An experienced and talented broadcaster in the high school ranks, Heater considered a number of broadcasting schools around the country. But when he first stepped on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, he felt like it was home.

“I think the biggest thing that stood out to me about Virginia Tech was the people,” Heater said. “Once Bill Roth [professor of practice and voice of the Hokies] reached out, he introduced me to Evan Hughes and Jake Lyman and Kevin DiDomenico. It was something about the people that everyone was so welcoming and kind but also cared about the program and believed in what the future of the program could be.”

The supportive and collaborative culture in the sports media and analytics program made the difference for Heater. When he learned he’d have the opportunity to get meaningful reps as early as freshman year, he was sold.

Stepping up to the plate outside of the classroom  

In his four years in Blacksburg, Heater has been involved with many different media organizations. He’s served as a play-by-play broadcaster for the ACC Network and Salem Red Sox while leading 3304 Sports as play-by-play coordinator and interning for Tech Sideline. Heater also broadcasted Virginia Tech baseball and softball on the Virginia Tech Sports Network, powered by Playfly.

“I really owe everything to those opportunities because they’ve given me that opportunity to grow so much, both as a broadcaster and as a person,” Heater said. “I’m a big believer that in this industry, the classroom is so important, but you need to do things outside of the classroom. In the classroom, that’s where you can learn the skills and learn from professionals and how to do things. But if you go outside the classroom and use those other opportunities and other resources, that’s where you can truly apply them. I think it’s so integral and such an important piece of the algorithm here at Virginia Tech, and I owe so much to those opportunities.”

Heater credits his time with the Salem Red Sox as particularly impactful, giving him the chance to get reps with a professional organization while in school. He also experienced the grind of professional baseball.

“Nothing can replicate calling 65 games over the course of the summer with the Red Sox,” Heater said. “It made me a better baseball broadcaster, but it also made me a better broadcaster in every regard, because those reps are just irreplaceable. It made me so much more of an independent person, because I spent the summers here by myself or with a friend.

“It also taught me what it’s like to work in the field with professionals. There's no school. We have the treat of being helped a little bit here as students, because we’re still learning the ropes, but once you’re out there and working with other professionals and meeting other professional broadcasters across the league, that’s not necessarily the case. The ballpark really was the best classroom to grow up rather quickly and learn a lot.”

Learning from Hokies

Heater said he has grown both personally and professionally throughout his time in Blacksburg. He’s learned what’s most important to him, and it’s helped him stay grounded while chasing his dreams.

“Virginia Tech is a special place with a tight-knit community and a great place to learn and grow,” Heater said. “I just think the difference between coming in as a freshman to now — honestly, more personally than professionally — I’ve just grown and learned so much. Professionally, I feel like I always knew what the expectations were, but with the help of Bill [Roth] and Evan [Hughes, an alumnus], I’ve really been able to refine that piece of it.

“Personally, I think in your four years of college you’re able to find out what matters most. For me, that would be family first and secondly, I care a lot about my career, so that’s kind of where the priorities lie for me. I think the growth in the four years at Virginia Tech has been more growth than I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

A two-time second-team Jim Nantz award All-American, Heater has already etched his name into Virginia Tech history, but he doesn’t want to be remembered for his accomplishments. Instead, he wants to be remembered for his impact on others.

“If you asked me what I wanted my legacy to be when I was a freshman, I would have told you I wanted to be the best broadcaster to come out of Virginia Tech," Heater said. "If you ask me that now as a senior on my way out the door, I want to be remembered as somebody whose passion for telling stories and for the craft showed in their work, but [also as someone who was] kind to everybody and somebody you looked forward to talking to and working with, and somebody that was always willing to help those coming after them. That's what’s most important to me. I learned all those lessons from a guy like Evan Hughes, who laid the foundation. He’s been the perfect example of what it means to be a true leader in the regard that you empower others and lift others up."