Joe DeCamara ’00 loves to talk. He’ll talk about events in the sports world to anyone who turns the dial to listen to him on the Sports Radio 94 WIP (Philadelphia) Morning Drive show, which he hosts with Jon Ritchie from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays.

“I absolutely love what I do,” said DeCamara. “I consider myself very lucky to do it. We reach a big audience, so it’s gratifying to have gotten to this point.” In 2022, national website Barrett Sports Media named DeCamara’s show the second-best talk show in his time slot, out of all local sports shows in America.

Being a history major may not seem like an educational background that would lead to a career in sports radio, but DeCamara said his studies at Fairfield helped on his career path.

“The biggest thing I learned is that, with the exception of kings and queens, almost all of the famous people we study in history books have two things in common: a tremendous passion for what they pursued professionally and a willingness to take risks. I credit Fairfield for helping me understand this. I leaned on this knowledge when I embarked on my career path 18 months after graduating from Fairfield. Since then, I have not abandoned the principles of these two points.”

DeCamara began his radio career in 2001 as an intern at 1490-AM WBCB, a radio station owned by Philadelphia Eagles play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese. Four months into his tenure at WBCB, he landed his own show, Monday and Thursday nights, after Philadelphia Phillies games. A couple of years later, Reese helped him secure a job producing WYSP-FM’s Eagle’s pre- and post-game show.

DeCamara moved to Phillie-based 94 WIP Sportsradio in 2004 to work as Howard Eskin’s producer; he joined 97.5 The Fanatic as part of their launch in 2005. That same year, he also returned to Fairfield’s campus, to teach a sports broadcasting course.

In 2007, DeCamara was promoted to assistant program director at The Fanatic, and in 2011 he began hosting his own weeknight show. He also hosted the station’s Eagles Pre-Game Show and a Wednesday show with former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski. In 2013 he began hosting a weekend show on National ESPN Radio, and said working at ESPN gave him the confidence to believe “I can hang with this group.” In 2015 his show on The Fanatic was lengthened to four hours a night. In 2016, DeCamara left The Fanatic to rejoin WIP, this time as midday show host alongside Jon Ritchie.

DeCamara landed the coveted WIP Morning Drive talk show in February of this year. “It has been a long and winding road,” he said. “It was not easy to carve out a career in sports radio. Many years were tough, especially the early years. There was a lot of rejection. Every step for me, every small victory felt like a big deal. I’m eternally grateful for the many people who have helped me along the way.”

On-air workday pleasures are many for DeCamara. He enjoys discussing the big stories and “hot” topics of the day; forging relationships with callers — and, by extension, the listeners who tune in daily; “fun” interactions with his co-hosts; and his proximity to notable figures in Philadelphia and national sports. “I have become friends with many sports figures I grew up watching,” he noted. “That blows my mind. It has enriched my life.”

Through the years many high-profile individuals have been on DeCamara’s show, including: Joe Frazier, Roger Goodell, Eric Lindros, Mark Messier, Mike Schmidt, Dwight Gooden, Donovan McNabb, Michael Irvin, Barry Sanders, Steve Young, Grant Hill, Moses Malone, and many others.

DeCamara chose to attend Fairfield for a rather simple yet important consideration: “I recognized it would be a great college for me to attend.” He credits the late mathematics professor Benjamin Fine, PhD, and David McFadden, PhD, and William Abbott, PhD, both of the History Department, as his three most memorable instructors at Fairfield. His favorite memories of Fairfield involve “being with my friends. I forged so many lifelong friendships at Fairfield.” Nowadays when he isn’t talking sports or attending games, DeCamara enjoys reading, exercising, and traveling.

As for where the winding career road will take him, DeCamara said, “Right now I’m just focused on doing the best job I can with my current show. I imagine more will develop in time, but it’s nice to not be chasing the next thing. I did that for so long. Right now, I want to appreciate where I’m at and hopefully do an exceptional job at it.”