"You are now part of the Syracuse alumni team, and it’s the best team in the world," Mike Tirico told the approximately 6,679 graduating students inside the JMA Wireless Dome. (Photo by Amy Manley)
Mike Tirico ’88 Challenges the Class of 2026 to Find What They Love
has called Super Bowls, NBA Finals, the Olympics and the Kentucky Derby from broadcast booths around the world. On Sunday, he returned to where it all started to send Syracuse University’s Class of 2026 off with a challenge: keep chasing your dreams, and “don’t leave your childlike wonder behind.”
“All of you have a Syracuse story,” Tirico told the approximately 6,679 graduating students inside the JMA Wireless Dome. “Here, you formed a foundation of resiliency. You learned to deal with the curves that the road ahead provides. I hope in years to come, when you tell your Syracuse story, it involves your dreams and it’s eventually going to include how you kept chasing them.”
Tirico, who serves as vice chair of the , is the of “Sunday Night Football” and “NBA on NBC,” and serves as the primetime host for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympics. He has interviewed such elite athletes as Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, four-time NBA champion LeBron James, and Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Lindsey Vonn.
Tirico compared the graduates to those world-class athletes, encouraging them to draw on the same traits that carried them through Syracuse to achieve professional success.
“They thrived because of their minds, their strength and their ability to out-plan, to outthink and to withstand the scrutiny,” said Tirico, a member of the . “They share a commonality [with you]. They loved what they did and love what they do. Go out and find what you love. Go find what makes you happy and let that fuel you to your future.”
With his mother, Maria, and his wife, Deborah Gibaratz Tirico ’89, in attendance, Tirico took a moment to celebrate the moms who were cheering on their graduating students. Tirico asked the Class of 2026 to get out of their seats and give the moms a round of applause and a big wave while wishing them a happy Mother’s Day.
Tirico recalled growing up in a single-parent household, crediting the support he received from “a village of amazing family members” with helping him become a first-generation college student. Tirico earned dual bachelor’s degrees in political science from the and the , and in broadcast journalism from the .
Tirico emphasized maintaining the strong relationships the Class of 2026 formed with their friends and professors while on campus.
“Many of you are surrounded right now by your closest friends and you’re sitting with your crew. Forty years after starting the journey, for me, my life is still filled with my day ones from Syracuse. The people I met in that very first class at Newhouse. The people who I called games with on ,” Tirico said. “Many of those people are going to be your people for the rest of your life.”
Tirico closed by welcoming the newest members of the Syracuse University alumni network, consisting of more than 250,000 alumni worldwide.
“Since I live in the space of sports, today is one of the best game days of the year because we get a few thousand new teammates,” Tirico said. “You are now part of the Syracuse alumni team, and it’s the best team in the world.”
