The Lamron

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Submitted John Tournour '87, better known as 'JT the Brick.'

Since graduating from Geneseo in 1987, John Tournour, known on the Fox Sports Radio airways as "JT the Brick," has taken a long and winding career path that has led him to become one of the most successful sports talk personalities on the air today.

A die-hard fan of the New York Knicks and New York Yankees, he has let his enthusiasm for sports and great interpersonal skills carry him to the top of the sports radio world.

After growing up in North Massapequa on Long Island, Tournour arrived at Geneseo where he received a degree in speech communication in 1987. While at Geneseo, Tournour served as president of the Delta Kappa Tau fraternity, was an active member of the rugby team, and occasionally wrote sports articles for The Lamron.

"It was the best four years of my life," he said. "The reason I am where I am today is because of my father and the way he guided me through life and the experiences I had at Geneseo as president of the DK fraternity."

When he left Geneseo, Tournour did not seem destined to be the sports personality that he has become. "I never went to college to become a radio host. I now have the largest syndicated sports talk show at night in America," he said.

After graduation, Tournour worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street for several years. In 1992, he moved to San Diego and subsequently began calling in to sports radio talk shows. In 1995, he was invited to participate in the first ever "Smack-Off," an invite-only competition of the most dedicated callers to famed sports broadcaster Jim Rome's syndicated talk show. Tournour won the competition, and it jump-started his career in radio.

After winning the competition, Tournour moved to Las Vegas and co-hosted The Pete Rose Show with baseball legend Pete Rose. He then moved to San Francisco and hosted a local sports show on KNBR from noon to 3 p.m. At the same time, Tournour hosted a syndicated sports show from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.

"I was the only radio host in America working eight hours a day," Tournour noted. He did this for two years.

In 1998, Tournour started working for the Oakland Raiders as host of their pre- and post-game show. He now hosts a weekly show for Raiders fans, The Raiders Report. Tournour is the only sports talk show host who is also on the payroll of an NFL team.

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