On Monday, Feb. 24, Pizza with the Pros welcomed MLB Network Studio Production Manager David Zubrzycki.

Zubrzycki graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Glassboro State, now Rowan, in 1987. A few years after graduating college, Zubrzycki landed a job with the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending his early years with the organization as the operations assistant and coordinator.

After succeeding in his two previous roles with the organization, Zubrzycki was named Operations Manager. There he developed, implemented, and managed key professional development programs that were meaningful and relevant, one of which included piloting the first cross-training television production skills training program.

Three years later, Zubrzycki was promoted to a director position in the NBA. The position had him focusing a lot on the financial side of the business, dealing with negotiations, budgets, and expense management. 

Zubrzycki would get his top role with the organization a couple of years later as a senior director, a strategically important and highly accountable position, which involved planning, communicating, and leading a diverse set of activities.

However, after spending almost two decades with the organization, Zubrzycki was forced to take a different route in his career. In the summer of 2011, the NBA decided to downsize, with Zubrzycki being one of the employees asked to leave the company.

“They had a lockdown in 2011. NBA players and executives couldn’t agree on a lot of different things. So, they called me into the conference room. I was three months short of being there for 20 years. They said they were restructuring and changing business modules, and that was it. At that point, I was like ‘What am I going to do?’ All I’ve done is be surrounded by sports and television my whole life,” said Zubrzycki.

Nearly two years after being laid off, Zubrzycki found himself back in professional sports, this time with Major League Baseball. There, he was asked to be the Studio Production Manager for the Emmy Award-winning TV network dedicated to original programming, analysis, highlights, and game telecasts, MLB Network.

“Fortunately, when MLB Network started in 2009, some of our people went over there to work, and just out of the blue, I got a call from my friend saying they were looking for a production manager, asking if I was interested. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m there,’ but it took almost two years to get that job, and it was part-time. It was nights, weekends, and holidays from 6:00 p.m. through 2:00 a.m., but I just couldn’t turn that down. I love baseball,” Zubrzycki said.

For the past 12 years, Zubrzycki has championed a broad range of activities at MLB Network to ensure optimal operational execution against business strategies. His hard work, dedication, and success with the network have been proven through his accolades, being a two-time Emmy Award winner for outstanding technical team/studio.

Zubrzycki included all the hardships that came with his journey, but still getting to where he wanted to inspire students at Rowan to keep pursuing their goals and to not let anything stop them from achieving them. 

Next week, Pizza with the Pros will be welcoming Kevin Kurz, who is the staff hockey writer for The Athletic.

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