Philadelphia has a rich history of sports championships. One of six cities that won at least one championship in the NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA, Philadelphia’s combined total of 19 championships in these leagues ranks seventh among North American cities.
But Philadelphia is not the only place with a history of championships. Over its history, Cabrini athletics has captured 146 conference championships, a national championship, and a national championship runner-up.
Since the university is so close to Philadelphia, the Loquitur staff had had many opportunities to write about championships in the area.
Kevin Durso: sportswriter
Kevin Durso, a staff writer for the Loquitur during the 2011-12 school year and sports editor for the 2012-13 school year, dreamed of sports writing and the Loquitur gave him that chance as he is now a Inbound Marketing Copywriter for Stream Companies.
“I always wanted to be a sportswriter. I really wanted to be a baseball writer and had started my own Phillies blog before I ever arrived at Cabrini,” he said. “Getting to cover sports in person was really the fuel for this as I went through my years with the Loquitur and beyond.”
Durso dove into the opportunities Cabrini’s communication department offered. “I joined Cavalier Radio, then WYBF The Burn, in the spring of 2011 and from my first broadcast was completely hooked on going to games, being a presence, and getting as much experience as possible,” Durso said. “Later that fall, when I joined the Loquitur, I immediately jumped into sports coverage… and looked for every opportunity I could to do as much as possible to be around and as hands-on as possible. That only continued over the next three years of my college career and has continued ever since as I shifted to covering the Philadelphia Flyers and the NHL.” Before shifting into copywriting, Durso was a Flyers hockey insider for 97.3 ESPN-FM.
Though there were no professional Philadelphia sports championships during his years at Cabrini, Durso covered many of the school’s championships.
“In my first year with the Loquitur in March 2012, the men’s basketball team made it to the national championship game of the Division III NCAA tournament. The entire communications department was really dedicated to getting the best coverage we could with limited people credentialed,” Durso said. “I covered both the Final Four and National Championship games for the Loquitur and helped on the broadcast on Cavalier Radio. Unfortunately, after a thrilling win in the Final Four, the team came up short in the National Championship and lost by three points.”
Future success of writers
The Loquitur not only produced some phenomenal articles on sports, but set its staff writers and editors up for success in the future.
“There are many lessons I can take from my time writing for the Loquitur that can be applied to my current job. In addition to my full-time job as a copywriter, which certainly requires the writing skills, preparation, and teamwork that comes with being part of a staff like the Loquitur, I also freelance for 97.3 ESPN-FM in South Jersey covering the Philadelphia Flyers, and that takes every element of my coverage as a sportswriter with the Loquitur and brings it into the world of professional sports,” Durso said. “One thing that I take away from my time with the Loquitur that I still use in that role is being flexible. You have to be able to create quickly and on-the-fly as a game happens or as news breaks, and you have to be able to evolve in the way people consume the news and what they are looking for from your content. The foundation for those values were set from my days in the Loquitur newsroom.”
