A 2006 Carroll graduate, Casey Phillips worked her way through the journalism industry beginning with internships with the Dallas Mavericks and Fox Sports Southwest. Going from Dallas to Washington, D.C. to Tampa, where she works now, Casey currently acts as a reporter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And when the team went to the Super Bowl on February 7, Casey was there to experience the journey from the sidelines.
I WENT TO… the University of Missouri for both my undergrad in radio/television journalism, and my master's in broadcast management.
I HAD INTERNSHIPS… in high school with Fox Sports Southwest and the Dallas Mavericks, then, in college, I did internships again with Fox Sports Southwest plus two different internships with the Cowboys and two with CBS KTVT in Dallas. Then right out of college, I did a full time graduate intern program with Walt Disney World in Orlando in their sports PR department. And then I went on to work for the Washington Wizards and Mystics in D.C., then the St Louis Rams and then onto the Bucs.
I KNEW I WANTED TO DO BROADCASTING… in the sixth grade after working at Durham Intermediate school’s news program run by students. But I realized I wanted to do sports in high school when my broadcast teacher Ms. Rose got me the opportunity to interview for the Mavericks and Fox Sports Southwest internships.
BILL JONES… who has worked for Fox Sports Southwest, CBS and the Cowboys, was also such a big influence on me and mentor for me helping me through all those internships. I met him in high school after playing basketball at Carroll with his daughter.
IT HAS BEEN SUCH… a whirlwind and incredible but weird experience. We signed Brady right after going into COVID lockdown so we were in the middle of figuring out how to even do our jobs from home when one of the biggest stories of this franchise’s history dropped in our laps. We had to create a Skype account to get my first interview with him on the day he signed. I still to this day haven’t met him in person even though we’ve done several interviews.
IT WAS SO AMAZING… to watch our organization get so much more national attention. I loved that for the players who have always been incredibly talented and great guys but don’t always get the national recognition since we are a smaller market team and hadn’t had a lot of success in recent years.
GOING TO A SUPER BOWL… is a bucket list item for so many people. Getting to cover a Super Bowl is a dream come true. Getting to cover my team I know and love in the Super Bowl in our own stadium as the first team to ever do that? I think priceless would be the word. I thought about 12-year-old Casey anchoring the news of the lunch menu back in Southlake and what she would have thought seeing me doing a live show from the Super Bowl.
WITHOUT ME DOING… the in-stadium announcing, plus COVID rules not allowing me in the locker room post-game, actually made it a much easier game for me to cover than normal. But then the parade was put together in less than 24 hours, and I was on a meeting with coworkers at 10 p.m. the night before learning I would be emceeing the post-parade speeches. That turned into an incredible but hectic experience.
THERE WERE DEFINITELY MORE… Bucs fans than Chiefs fans there with the game being in Tampa, so it was a complete party the moment the clock hit zero. The confetti was so amazing to experience in person and getting to watch the players and coaches with their families on the field was just so special. I started to tear up a bit knowing how much hard work goes into it and how much they all sacrifice just trying to get to that moment.
IN NORMAL OFFSEASONS… I cover the Pro Bowl, the Combine, free agency, the draft, in-depth player features and offseason workouts. So my schedule is less hectic than during the regular season but it is still a full-time job. There is still so much up in the air about this offseason with COVID, for example [so] it doesn’t seem like there will be a combine. And we don’t know if the draft will be virtual again or not. But no matter what does or doesn’t happen, I will still be covering it, either from zoom or in person.
SOUTHLAKE PLAYED… such a big role in getting me to where I am both with the opportunities to play sports, seeing the joy in being a fan of sports like going to watch the football team in the state championships in San Antonio, as a member of Crew and the resources to have school broadcast classes/stations. And even the people like Bill Jones and Ms. Rose who encouraged me and went out of their way to help me get internships at such a young age put me so far ahead of the game. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the opportunities Southlake gave me.