John Filippelli and John Flaherty of YES Network to speak at St. Thomas Aquinas College

St. Thomas Aquinas College will host John Filippelli, president of production and programming for the YES Network, and John Flaherty, NY Yankees color commentator and former major league catcher, for a panel discussion and question-and-answer session, announces Dr. John Durney, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the College. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2015 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the College’s Sullivan Theatre.

Filippelli and Flaherty will share experiences from their careers in the world of sports and media. The event is designed to provide students, especially those studying communication arts and sports management, an insider’s perspective on sports broadcasting, programming and production from two prominent professionals in the field. The event is also open to the public.

“We are excited to welcome Mr. Filippelli and Mr. Flaherty to campus as consummate and influential professionals in the field of sports media, and as honorary alumni of the College,” says Dr. Durney. “Both are sure to give our audience a behind-the-scenes look at their professions and serve as a great source for our students interested in these industries,” Dr. Durney adds.

The Flaherty and Filippelli event is co-sponsored by the Communications Arts and Sports Management departments at the College. For more information about the event, contact Professor Michael McManus at 845-398-4091 or mmcmanus@stac.edu.

More About Mr. John Filippelli

John J. Filippelli, the only person in sports broadcasting history known to have earned more than 100 national Emmy nominations as well as more than 100 local Emmy nominations, was promoted from executive vice president to president of production and programming for the YES Network in September 2004, after having joined YES in 2001 prior to the network’s launch. Filippelli is responsible for all aspects of the on-air content for the pre-eminent regional sports network in the nation.

Throughout his career, Filippelli has been recognized for his achievements in the industry, most recently in April 2013, where he was named Executive of the Year by New York University’s Sports Business Society. He received the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from St. Thomas Aquinas College at the 2014 Commencement ceremony.

A Brooklyn (NY) native whose father owned a bar across the street from Ebbets Field, Filippelli’s first actual job in sports was as a vendor at Yankee Stadium at age 16.

More About Mr. John Flaherty
John Flaherty is a television baseball broadcaster and a retired major league player. A catcher drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1988, he moved through the farm system and broke through with the Sox in 1992. He played 14 Major League seasons with five teams and last played in the major leagues for the NY Yankees (2003-2005).

Following his retirement, Flaherty joined the YES Network as a color analyst on Yankees broadcasts. In addition to game commentary, Flaherty has also served the network as an analyst on the NY Yankees Pre-Game Show, Yankees Batting Practice Today, and the NY Yankees Post-Game Show.

A West Nyack (NY) native, Flaherty is a graduate of George Washington University, where he earned degrees in speech communication and psychology, and played baseball for the Colonials. In 2008, he was among the “Starting Nine” inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. He is a member of the George Washington University Hall of Fame, the Rockland County Hall of Fame and the St. Joseph’s Regional High School Hall of Fame. He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Thomas Aquinas College in 2009.

St. Thomas Aquinas College is an independent liberal arts college located on 60 acres in Rockland County, NY which provides education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College’s 2,800 full and part time students can choose from more than 100 different majors, minors, specializations, and dual degree programs across three Schools: Arts & Sciences, Business, and Education. The College is recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the Top-Tier for Regional Universities, by Colleges of Distinction in both its New York and Catholic editions, by Affordable Colleges Online as a top College in New York for Return on Investment, and is included as a Military Friendly School®. St. Thomas Aquinas College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; its School of Education is accredited by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education(NCATE); and its School of Business is accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). For more information, visit www.stac.edu.