Many high schoolers look forward to playing sports in high school.

Sophomore Joey Bonadonna, however, is looking to master the business side of sports.

“I’ve always felt that I have a different passion for sports than the typical athlete. I think the value I bring to the game is through my mind and voice,” he said.

Bonadonna’s goal while at Notre Dame is to create a student-led sports podcast on campus, building off the legacy of Kevin Harlan, Premontre alum and world-famous sports broadcaster, who once ran a student radio station too.

As a freshman, Harlan started the radio show from a 10-watt station that came to be known as WGBP-FM.

Harlan went on to broadcast hundreds of basketball and football games and eventually won the National Sportscaster of the Year Award by the NSMA and was a Notre Dame Triton Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 2019.

His legacy is one of unparalleled success and is certainly an inspiration for Bonadonna.

The first episode was released this past week and featured Harlan as the show’s main guest.

 While on air, they discussed the Harlan legacy at Our Lady of Premontre, his professional broadcasting career, and his advice for future broadcasters and commentators.

The podcast, dubbed the Triton Sports Network, is a sports show featuring student-athletes, coaches and alumni from NDA.

“Once every two weeks I’ll do a podcast with—whether it’s a coach, alum, or player—recapping their story at Notre Dame…or how the season is going.  Maybe there is a big game coming up and I’ll talk to them about that, and it will all go live on the Notre Dame website,” said the sophomore.

Ideally, Bonadonna wishes to continue the podcast at Notre Dame for the remainder of the school year, picking up with the winter sports season soon.  

“Right now it’s a hobby,” said Bonadonna.

“One thing I want to go into is working in a front office, like working as a scout for a football team.  That’s probably my end goal.”

The next episode of the Triton Sports Network will showcase the girls golf team.

You can find every podcast episode on the Notre Dame Academy Home Page by opening the “Athletics” and “Podcast” drop-down menus. Or by clicking on this link:https://ndatritons.podbean.com/e/episode-1-triton-sports-network-kevin-harlan/