Straight from the Hood: A Conversation with J. Hood, Chicago Sports Broadcaster and SFDS Alum

St. Francis de Sales (SFDS) alumnus Jonathan Hood (’90), better known to Chicago sports radio listeners as “J. Hood,” has been a sports broadcaster for more than 25 years. After more than a decade at 670 The Score, Jonathan moved to ESPN 1000, where he has been a familiar voice for the past 16 years.

Jonathan currently co-hosts “Kap & J.Hood” weekdays from 7-10 a.m., and is a co-host of multiple shows on SiriusXM NBA Radio. He is also the play-by-play voice of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s baseball and men’s basketball teams.

Abby Melendrez, our SFDS Spotlight writer, recently caught up with Jonathan, and put the popular radio personality on the receiving end of the questions.

Abby: Your mother was a St. Francis de Sales Pioneer. Was it a foregone conclusion that you were also going to go to school there? 

Jonathan: It was not. I was looking at a few other schools, but it came down to my grandmother’s vote. She said, ‘Your mom was one of the first African Americans at the school, so I’d like for you to be a legacy.’ [Laughs] It was a very short conversation. There are chit chats…that was a chit.

Abby: I understand that your own high school athletic career was fairly short, but that you were an avid supporter of SFDS sports teams. How did that influence your career path?

Jonathan: I attempted to play baseball with Al Lodl. My grades did not hold up well enough for me to stay on the team, but I understood what school spirit was. At St. Francis de Sales, we supported our teams, from the freshman game at 4:00, to the sophomore game at 6:00, to the varsity game at 7:30. Afterwards we would kick it to Shoney’s or Pazzo’s—that was just part of the deal. Ultimately, us going to all those games was what led me to become a sportscaster.

Abby: What stands out for you from your academic experience at St. Francis de Sales?

Jonathan: There were a number of teachers I really liked who believed in me—from Larry Moore to Pete Thanos to Al Lodl to Mike Nicholson. And Mark Morgan—who I even had on my radio show a few times, which was always fun. When you’re a student, it’s so important for teachers to buy in, especially when your grades aren’t great. They did that for me.

Abby: What is your role at Illinois Media School?

Jonathan: I’ve been with IMS for seven or eight years now. After 20-plus years in the business, I wanted to be able to give back. I was a teacher on a weekly basis for four years, and now I do airchecks: kids will send me the best of what they do—talk shows, play by play—and I’ll judge what they need to do. I also go there once a month to talk to the students. It’s really rewarding.

Abby: ESPN, SiriusXM, play-by-play, teaching…talk to me about balancing your time and how you analyze new opportunities.

Jonathan: When we were dating, I told my future wife that there was going to be someone else in our lives, that I had a mistress: the business. Fortunately, my wife was also in the business, so she understood! With sports being seasonal, I can pick and choose the projects I enjoy doing on top of my full-time job with ESPN 1000 in the mornings, and I still get to do things like traveling and going to the movies with her.

At some point I’d like to wind down the on-air work and move into a management role as a program director or general manager.

Abby: For students who might think that your job is simply to watch a lot of sports and then talk about them, what would you tell them about the work behind the scenes?

Jonathan: Everything’s about preparation. Life is about preparation. Just because I’m a White Sox fan or Bears fan wasn’t going to make me a good radio guy. I work a three-hour show now, and I have to put at least that much time into prep. I have to know the main stories and have context for those stories, and also read out-of-town and national newspapers. To have that knowledge within the context of other teams, even if you don’t use it that day, is important. 

Students now have so many more advantages now because of digital and technical advancements, but I really believe that in today’s world you have to try to be good at multiple things, which gives you a whole horizon of opportunities. If radio didn’t work out, I’d go into coaching. If not coaching, I’d go into teaching. You have to go wide and deep in developing your skills so that you’re ready for those opportunities.

Abby: What haven’t I asked you that you would be asking yourself in an interview right now?

Jonathan: Were there any dark moments where you doubted yourself?

We all have ups and downs in this particular business. There are a lot of doors that will close on you, but if you’re determined and keep a stiff upper lip, you’ll be fine. If you send out a resume or make a phone call that doesn’t get answered, it just means it’s not your time.

My story is that I had an internship at WSCR in 1992. You would think that an internship would usually parlay into a job. They said, ‘Well, we’ll call you.’ I never got that phone call. So I’m sending the station resumes and tapes, and this guy responds. And so I got this idea to put a gym shoe in a shoebox along with my resume, and I sent a note to him saying, ‘I’m just looking to get my foot back in the door at WSCR.’ That certainly made an impression, but it was 1994 when I got my first paycheck from the station—two years after my internship. You have to be patient, but also persevere.