From the Lombard campus to the Final Four: how 2014 graduate Derek Spallone built a career in sports social media and launched his own digital sports platform.
Alumni Spotlight: Derek Spallone
Illinois Media School (formerly Illinois Center for Broadcasting–Lombard), Class of 2014
Social Media Manager, Wilson Sporting Goods | Founder & Sports Reporter, Spallone Sports
Illinois Media School alumni are working across the sports media industry, and few show the range better than Derek Spallone, who enrolled at the Lombard campus in 2013, he was a Chicagoland native with a love for sports and a hunch that media was where he belonged. Twelve years later, he runs the social channels for Wilson Basketball, Football, and Volleyball, three of the most recognizable brands in sports, and has built his own digital sports outlet along the way.
Building the Brand at Wilson
Derek joined Wilson Sporting Goods in 2019 and has spent the years since shaping the social strategy, storytelling, and brand voice for three of the company’s flagship categories. The results speak for themselves: more than 300,000 new Instagram followers across the channels he operates.
His work takes him wherever the game is. This year alone, that has meant on-site social storytelling at the Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, the McDonald’s All-American Games, and WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, where Wilson Basketball’s coverage drove more than 750,000 combined impressions. In between, he has led content collaborations with college and NFL athletes from Los Angeles to Wilson’s football factory in Ada, Ohio.
Spallone Sports: The Side Project That Became a Platform
Derek launched Spallone Sports in 2014, the same year he graduated, and never stopped. As an independent digital sports reporter, he has landed one-on-one interviews with more than 150 athletes, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Javier Báez, and NBA legends Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving.
This summer he debuted “Table For Two,” a series five years in the making that pairs a hometown athlete with their favorite local restaurant for a conversation about community, their journey, and giving back. Early episodes feature Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus and 11-year NBA veteran Robert Covington.
An Illinois Media School Alumni Path: From the Classroom to Wilson
Derek’s route to Wilson ran through a series of hands-on roles that mirror the kind of real-world training Illinois Media School students begin on day one: social media ambassador for the Chicago Wolves, digital and social media intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and social media intern with the Green Bay Packers, where he ran the team’s Snapchat account and cut in-game highlights for social.
Each stop added reps. Each set of reps opened the next door.
What’s Next
With Wilson’s social channels growing and “Table For Two” in its first season, Derek is proof of what a media education can become when you keep creating. Follow his work on the Wilson Basketball and Wilson Football social channels and at Spallone Sports.
Interested in a career in sports media or social media marketing? Illinois Media School offers hands-on training from day one, taught by working media professionals, at our O’Hare and Downtown Chicago campuses. [Learn more about Illinois Media School →] Chicago, IMedia School in Chicago, IL | Illinois Media School or O’Hare Campus | Be On Air Media School | Illinois Media School
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Congratulations, Derek — we’re proud to call you an alum. 🧡