ESPN's Tiffany Greene in FAMU broadcast booth.
Photo courtesy of Christian Whitaker
Florida A&M alumna Tiffany Greene is the first African-American woman to be a college football play-by-play announcer, and on Saturday Nov. 10, she came home to FAMU and got to do commentary for her alma mater.
Saturday was Greene’s first time calling a FAMU game since her historic promotion to college football commentator for ESPN, and Greene was more than excited to be back home in Tallahassee.
“It’s full circle, you know,” said Greene. “To come back here and give back to a university that I love. It never gets old…you poor out your heart to something that you love and so it never feels like work.”
Greene called the game alongside broadcast journalism student Alfonso Barber who is also a commentator for ESPN. Working with Greene was an amazing experience according to Barber, and Greene’s desire to help up and coming journalists came shining through during their time together.
“Working with the Tiffany Greene this past Saturday was an amazing experience to say the least,” said Barber in an interview with FAMU’s School of Journalism and Graphic Design. “I really appreciate the energy that she brought, the pointers and tips she gave throughout the broadcast and the breaks. You can really just tell she wants the best for you.”
Greene made a huge emphasis during this trip back on ‘The Hill’ to make time and appearances for various publications and productions on campus.
She worked with Assistant Athletic Director Vaughn Wilson and Rattler Productions to produce the ESPN3 podcast for the game, she was a guest on The Playmakers show on WANM 90.5 and she agreed to do several interviews including one for The Famuan.
“Whether it’s Robert asking ‘will you come on Playmakers?’ or getting the opportunity to work with a young journalist like Alfonso, Vaughn and Rattler Productions, anytime that I can make myself available I want to always be able to do that because someone took the time for me,” said Greene. “It is most important that I do the same for the young journalists coming up.”
Giving back to her alma mater is extremely important to Greene, as well as preparing the journalists behind her to be successful. She could have made her return to FAMU about herself, her accomplishments and the history she’s made. Instead, she decided to help the university she loves and the students that hope to follow in her footsteps.
“I hope you all understand that all of what you’re doing, being at The Famuan, WANM, FAMU TV20, working in the athletic department, wherever it is that you are, all of that comes together,” Greene said in her advice to young journalists. “You can (apply) all of that information and knowledge you had from where you started to what you do (later).”