Dan Canova sends a message to Kean students on sports writing

By Adaora Nnakwe | Published April 4, 2023

Kean Sports Business Club hosted its virtual speaker series interview with Dan Canova, co-founder of the NIL Deal and former Kean student, who advised students on landing a career in sports writing. 

Canova said he started his career with his internship during his senior year at Kean and took a sports writing class with sports reporter Jerry Carino. Canova is a former student of the KU Tower newspaper and developed his writing skills during his time as a college student. 

“Whenever I had hands-on experience like working at the Tower and actually doing something, that’s when I learned the best,” Canova said. 

Canova said that he was persistent with reaching out to professors, doing interviews, and networking for sports writing opportunities. 

He has interviewed football players like Deion Sander, Justin Herbert, Juju Smith-Schuster, Marshall Faulk, and many others. He said that he got a lot of experience through doing interviews and developing his journalism skills. 

“Don’t be afraid of hearing no. I’ve been told no hundreds of times, sent my resume out hundreds of times and never heard responses,” Canova said. “You’ve got to be persistent.” 

He advises students to focus on networking and reaching out without getting discouraged when job opportunities don’t work out. The key to success is getting professional experience outside of the classroom. 

“You sitting in a classroom,..that doesn’t carry into the real world,” Canova said. “You getting that hands-on professional experience, learning, networking with people gets you in the door.” 

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