{"id":1775,"date":"2023-07-31T15:32:07","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T19:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/?post_type=inductees&p=1775"},"modified":"2024-01-10T16:46:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T21:46:39","slug":"andrea-joyce","status":"publish","type":"inductees","link":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/inductees\/andrea-joyce\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrea Joyce"},"content":{"rendered":"

In any individual\u2019s career, there is a specific and poignant moment that stands out from the rest. For Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer\u00a0Andrea Joyce<\/strong>, there were a handful of instances that turned the native of Dearborn Heights, MI into the standard bearer of on-air Olympics coverage and real-time reporting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some moments occurred as a fan of sports during her formative years living in this suburb of Detroit. Living with three siblings \u2014 including two brothers involved in various sports \u2014 a loving mother, and a father who survived the Battles of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima in World War II and declined a football scholarship to Michigan State to help his own father with his corner store, Joyce learned discipline and the value of hard work at a young age. Outside of shaping her work ethic, Joyce\u2019s earliest sports memories featured her father, uncle, and brothers going to Tiger Stadium to see the Detroit Lions every Thanksgiving. One of her most enjoyable was the entire family heading to that same venue to watch the Al Kaline-led Tigers in a historic game on Sept. 17, 1968.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father, somehow, got six tickets to that game,\u201d says Joyce. \u201cThat was the night that they clinched the pennant and made a trip to the World Series.\u201d<\/p>\n

One year later, the Vietnam War was reaching its boiling point in 1969. Back in the States, Joyce was in junior high and positioned at a crossroads with her future. Sifting through the latest edition of the Detroit News, she stumbled on the byline of a female reporter covering the U.S. military\u2019s efforts real time in Vietnam. The piece resonated with her so much that it was the first time she contemplated a career in journalism, and she felt compelled to reach out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote her a letter because I thought this was an amazing job that would allow me to travel the world and cover these major events,\u201d says Joyce. \u201cHer mother wrote back to me and said that she couldn\u2019t respond since she was in Vietnam, but she would get back to me when she returned, and she actually did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In his final season at North Carolina, Joyce interviewed Dean Smith after advancing to the 1997 NCAA Men\u2019s Basketball Final Four.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With the eventual blaze that was her love for journalism starting out as kindling, she set her sights on finding a university to refine her skills. Despite her father garnering the attention of the Spartans, the family were avid fans of the maize and blue of the University of Michigan Wolverines, which ultimately led her to enroll in the institution in the early 1970s. At the time, the option wasn\u2019t available to Joyce when she first stepped on campus. Tapping into an attribute that would turn her into one of the best sports reporters in the business, her knack for making the best out of any situation led her to taking production courses within the Television, Radio, and Film department. Although she had a relative idea of what she wanted her career to be, she had her reservations after spending four years in Ann Arbor, MI.<\/p>\n

\u201cSitting at the smaller graduation for our department, I didn\u2019t know what I was going to do, but then I heard my name being announced for winning a scholarship for grad school,\u201d she adds. \u201cI became a teaching assistant, but didn\u2019t feel like I was moving forward because I didn\u2019t want to be an academic. I realized that I always directed in my production classes since no one asked for me to talent, so I thought the one thing that I didn\u2019t do was be in front of the camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joyce and Jim Nantz hosted onsite studio coverage at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Recruiting the help of friends, Joyce recorded a demo reel of a weather segment that she would send to stations \u2014 big and small \u2014 around the nation. Opting for a gig at KKTV in Colorado Springs, CO as their main weather girl over three job offers in Northern Michigan, she packed her bags and headed west to begin the first chapter of her illustrious professional career. Her travels took her from the mountains of Colorado Springs to KTVH-TV in the plains of Wichita, KS and back home to Detroit\u2019s NBC affiliate, WDIV-TV. There, she was bit by the sports journalism bug through reporting human interests stories that surrounded local sports. Through a friendship with University of Michigan football play-by-play announcer\u00a0Jim Brandstatter<\/strong>, she formed a rapport with legendary head coach Bo Schembechler. After a brief time in Denver to work for KMGH-TV, where she met her husband and news reporter Harry Smith, her most transformative place of employment at the time was as a weekend sports anchor at WFAA-TV in Dallas. Prior to receiving the full-time job, Joyce displayed her first example of resourcefulness. Under the guidance of news director\u00a0Marty Haag<\/strong>, he deviated from the traditional setup of sports departments with former male players by inserting Joyce into one of those circumstances that would change the course of her story.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were short staffed, so they asked if I could go to Reunion Arena and do a live report for the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Denver Nuggets before coming back to do the 10 p.m. show,\u201d continues Joyce. \u201cThey historically were unable to get [Nuggets Head Coach] Doug Moe for an interview, but I met him while I was out in Denver and thought maybe he\u2019d remember me. They told me to not waste my time, but I went back to my desk to find out where they team was staying. I called the hotel, the receptionist put me through to Doug\u2019s room, and I was able to schedule an interview at the arena. [The receptionist] changed the trajectory of my life, because if she didn\u2019t put me through, I don\u2019t know if everything would\u2019ve turned out the way it did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joyce spoke with Team USA gymnasts Aly Raisman and Simone Biles at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With a bit of ingenuity and dedication, the luck seemed to follow Joyce at every stop along the way. After accepting the full-time job in Dallas, fellow sports anchor and long-time Dallas icon\u00a0Dale Hansen\u00a0<\/strong>forged another moment that would give Joyce the confidence to sustain her status as one of the few female reporters in the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first big assignment was covering Dallas Cowboys training camp in Thousand Oaks, CA,\u201d adds Joyce. \u201cHe was the head of the sports department, so when he went during the first week, I figured all of the big names would have already been interviewed by him. When I got there on the second week, the team\u2019s biggest stars were still available because he saved them for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her success in the Lone Star State helped gain the interest of ESPN in 1988. She offered her expertise on tentpole events like the NFL Draft and the French Open, but her first taste of the Olympics came during the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul. As a non-rightsholders, ESPN didn\u2019t receive access to players before or after their events. Joyce\u2019s persistence shined once again to capture a much-needed interview.<\/p>\n

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Joyce and Mary Carillo at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI remember seeing in a newspaper that [German tennis player] Steffi Graf was going to be signing autographs, so if we wanted to talk to her, we needed to go there,\u201d says Joyce. \u201cWe stood in line with a camera and a microphone, and that\u2019s how I did my job. We had to figure out a way to make it work when you don\u2019t [have all of the access].\u201d<\/p>\n

While the public wasn\u2019t always on board with a woman doing local sports, Joyce received tremendous support from many of her colleagues. Hansen was one of them, but when she made her permanent move to a national network like CBS Sports in 1989, she found others there as well to lend critical support.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in New York, our producers wanted one of the guys on our team to interview [Syracuse Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach] Jim Boeheim, but [Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer]\u00a0Lance Barrow<\/strong>\u00a0insisted that it was my halftime show and I should do the interview,\u201d continues Joyce. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll never forget how adament he was when he went to bat for me.\u00a0 Those are the kind of memories that shine brighter than any negative ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joyce reported from the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In an effort to push her outside of her comfort zone, CBS Sports\u2019 Executive Producer\u00a0Ted Shaker<\/strong>\u00a0paired Joyce with Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer\u00a0Mary Carillo\u00a0<\/strong>to do play-by-play during the 1989 US Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at all of the distinguished members of this industry, and then try to find someone who has a better and healthier sense of it all than Andrea Joyce,\u201d says Carillo. \u201cFor decades, she has shown us how it can be done \u2014 with professionalism, grace, humor, and heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

This opportunity led to Joyce being involved on numerous properties during her decade-long tenure at the network, including host duties for early rounds of the 1991 NCAA Division I Men\u2019s Basketball Championship,\u00a0College Football Today<\/em>\u00a0with\u00a0Mike<\/strong>\u00a0Francesa<\/strong>, the NCAA Division I Women\u2019s Basketball Championship Final Four and title game from 1991 to 1994; the 1990 Heisman Trophy Award show, the 1990 NBA Playoffs, figure skating, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted our crew of hosts, play-by-play, and analysts, as well as the men and women in the truck and in the studio, to reflect who our audience was,\u201d says Shaker. \u201cThis is almost forty years ago, which was before other broadcasters were doing what CBS Sports was doing to build diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

With diversity in mind, Joyce had the honor of working alongside fellow trailblazer and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer\u00a0Lesley<\/strong>\u00a0Visser<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrea has always been such a joy \u2013 a woman of talent and wit and legendary kindness,\u201d says Visser. \u201cWith friends across the industry for decades, and a mentor to those coming along, Andrea\u2019s been the prototype for how to succeed, with optimism, self-assurance and a smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joyce with Roger Federer at the US Open.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A move to NBC Sports at the turn of the century in 2000 also meant a shift to her current and most prominent role at the network: reporter on the network\u2019s coverage of the Winter and Summer Olympics. Playing a role in the last 12 Olympic Games at NBC Sports, she was also a part of three Olympics at CBS Sports: 1992 in Albertville, France; 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway; and 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Since her first one in 1988, Joyce has embraced the communal nature of the Games that brings countries of the world together. This sentiment was seen many times in front of the camera, but the one that\u2019s stood with Joyce years later occurred off screen in Lillehammer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were off one night after the huge cross-country relay where Norway was supposed to win, but\u00a0they lost by a nose of a ski to the Italians<\/a>,\u201d says Joyce. \u201cWe were out to dinner at a restaurant and the Italian team walks in. All of the locals [in the restaurant] stood up, and there was silence for a couple of second, but they gave the Italians a standing ovation. That, in a nutshell, tells you everything you need to know about the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joyce and Billie Jean King at the 2023 US Open.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

An appreciation for sports, the tactfulness to comprehend others\u2019 situations, and ability to grab the story without being inconsiderate or disrespectful has carried Joyce to the<\/p>\n

pinnacle of her profession. Gaining these traits from her upbringing and fine-tuning them throughout her storied career, she also obtained knowledge from other female reporters that came before her, including Visser and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer\u00a0Phyllis George<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us would be where we are without women like Lesley and Phyllis beating down the door,\u201d says Joyce. \u201cI\u2019m proud to be a woman who went out there, did her job, and showed that if you do your homework, you\u2019re a hard worker, and you\u2019re honest, you can do it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joyce is most proud of the relationships she\u2019s made along the way, particularly with other women in the industry.\u00a0 She calls them her \u201cposse\u201d, which includes women like\u00a0Billie<\/strong>\u00a0Jean<\/strong>\u00a0King<\/strong>,\u00a0NFL on CBS\u00a0<\/em>director\u00a0Suzanne<\/strong>\u00a0Smith<\/strong>, NBC Olympics\u2019 Executive Producer & President\u00a0Molly<\/strong>\u00a0Solomon<\/strong>, Carillo, Visser, and more. Their example has pushed her to encourage others to pay it forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is that, as women in this business, we have always lifted each other up,\u201d says Joyce. \u201cSince I wasn\u2019t an athlete, it\u2019s been a joy for me to be on this amazing world class team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1776,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[61],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees\/1775"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/inductees"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}