In an industry where broadcasts define how fans experience the biggest moments in sports, few executives have had as much influence behind the scenes as Jacob Ullman.
In over three decades with FOX Sports, Ullman has put together one of the most distinguished careers in sports media. The Senior Vice President of Talent Development has seen it all, taking part in many impactful projects and helping shape how we view sports today.
Ullman’s love for sports began early on.
“It was my whole life when I was like a young kid. People would say, I want to be a firefighter, I want to be a ballerina, I want to be a princess,” Ullman said. “I would be like, ‘I want to be a baseball play by play announcer.’ I always wanted it.”
Growing up in Los Angeles, Ullman was surrounded by some of the most prolific voices in sports broadcasting. He listened to Chick Hearn, the legendary voice of the Lakers who coined the phrase ‘slam dunk.’ Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Bob Costas and Tom Kelly were among the many others who filled the airwaves during his youth.
As his passion grew, Ullman found creative ways to practice broadcasting and prepare for college.
“When I was young, I would watch a baseball game with the sound off and record it into a tape recorder,” Ullman said. “That’s something I’d do to get experience and reps.”
When Ullman was a sophomore, he started looking at various colleges around the country. Syracuse was a specific school that caught his eye, but he ultimately decided to continue his family lineage and attend the University of Southern California.
“My great grandmother graduated from USC in 1928,” Ullman said. “My grandfather was a professor in the music department for over 30 years, and my uncle, John De Rose, is a huge supporter of the school and was an alumni, so I kind of grew up with USC in the blood.”
After arriving on campus, Ullman dove into every broadcasting and athletic opportunity he could find. He worked in USC’s athletics fundraising department, where he connected with the athletic director and numerous coaches.
He also competed on the school’s sailing team, then a varsity sport, and joined the student radio station.
The summer before his junior year, Ullman landed an internship with Prime Ticket (now FanDuel Sports Network West), where he contributed to the network’s nightly sports show. The experience introduced him to production, and he quickly made the most of it.
“They would hire one USC student and one UCLA student as a paid production assistant during the year, and I was lucky enough to do that,” Ullman said.
He eventually rose to director of USC’s student radio station, where he called football and basketball games and hosted three radio shows. That work drew the attention of one of his peers.
“The summer before my senior year I got a call from a guy named Doug Jackson at FOX Sports,” Ullman said. “He left a message saying, are you interested in the NFL? Would you be interested in working here?”
Ullman said yes.
“FOX had just got the rights from the NFC package of the NFL from CBS,” Ullman said. “Somebody, I believe at USC, recommended me. I don’t know to this day who it was. Whoever that person was, thank you.”
Despite being in his early 20s, Ullman was a jack of all trades, holding positions as a researcher, PA, broadcast associate and sideline producer for the network in his early years. Also, FOX Sports had just launched and was only broadcasting the NFL.
“Ed Goren, who was our original president of our company and executive producer, has always been a great mentor to me,” Ullman said. “I had lots of other great bosses along the way, including a guy named Jack Simmons, who really taught me how to be respectful of other employees and also to work really hard.”
From there, Ullman kept working his way up the ranks. In 1997, Ullman also started working for NFL Europe. The program gave players, referees and members of sports media invaluable experience during the NFL offseason. Many big names in sports media like Troy Aikman and Rich Russo went through NFL Europe.
Ullman worked there until 2006, when he became the Director of Remote Production at FOX. From there, Ullman’s climb up the ladder accelerated.
In 2010, he was promoted to executive director, followed by coordinating producer in 2011. A year later, he became vice president of production, where he helped launch FOX Sports 1.
“I think I played a big part when we launched FS1,” Ullman said. “We hired a lot of production people, so I was a big part of that process with just extensive interviews of people related to that.”
Ullman also spent hours auditioning announcers for the network. Some that got hired were Kevin Burkhardt, Joel Klatt and Molly McGrath.
That led to his role as vice president of production and talent development, a position he held for about a year before being promoted to his current position in 2016.
As Ullman enters his thirty-second NFL season at FOX, his story isn’t just about longevity, it’s about the quiet power of those who shape the spotlight behind it.
“I started entry level, and I’ve grown with the company. I’ve been very fortunate that the timing has worked out so wonderfully for me in my career,” Ullman said.
Ullman has also worked 11 Super Bowls, an experience he described as especially rewarding. On top of that, he’s worked Daytona 500s and World Series.
In addition to his production work, Ullman has dedicated significant time to mentoring young broadcasters and fostering talent throughout the industry.
“I pride myself in helping a lot of people and giving people opportunities,” Ullman said. “I feel like I’ve hired and given chances to a lot of people that have made impacts in this industry in different ways.”