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Taking His Shot

Jun 3, 2022

Long before recent Xavier graduate Brendan Ross was the lead content creator for the University's men’s basketball team, he discovered his love for photography and videography during a family trip to Europe. 

The Darien, Connecticut, native still recalls, as an eight-year-old, a visit to a London museum where he first took the camera from his mother, who typically handled family photos and videos. 

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"I basically stole it out of her hands,” Ross said with a smile. “She was usually the cameraperson capturing all the family memories, and in that moment, it was like, ‘No, I want that now.’ That’s probably my fondest memory of getting a camera in my hands.” 

From that moment on, Ross' passion only grew stronger. His mother and father continued putting a camera in his hands at every opportunity and taught him all the essentials over the years. Ross constantly built upon that foundation, leading to quite the resume for someone who only just donned their cap and gown.

In addition to his content creation role with Xavier Athletics, Ross also served as a manager for the men’s basketball team all four years at the University, developed social media content for Team USA last summer in Colorado Springs for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and interned with a collegiate baseball summer league team in Kenosha, Wisconsin.




In 2021, he received the Henry B. Bunker Memorial Scholarship, awarded annually to a student who makes significant contributions to Xavier Athletics while maintaining the University’s high standards of academic excellence.

Ross attributes his passion for sports to his parents, Martin and Elizabeth, and the Darien community. As a senior at Darien High School, Ross volunteered to help a sports broadcasting and media service now known as DAF Media, which received a National Student Production Regional Emmy Award in April 2020 for live high school sports coverage.

A two-sport athlete himself (swimming and baseball), Ross translated the mindset of putting in “extra reps” from his athletic endeavors to his professional ambitions.

"(My hometown) is very sports-passionate, and it has that mantra of, ‘if you’re not trying, you’re on the bench,’” Ross said. “So now, instead of getting extra reps on the baseball field, or laps in the swimming pool, I’m getting extra reps of taking photos; seeing what the presets are; seeing what the coloring looks like; seeing what this angle looks like compared to that one."

While Ross’ ambition and work ethic proved key to his success, he still needed to find a place that offers ample opportunity – that's where Xavier came in.

When deciding on which University to attend, he was swayed by the words of Jason Cloutier, Xavier’s Northeast Regional Director of Undergraduate Admissions. During a visit to Cincinnati, Cloutier said so long as Ross maintained his drive for success, he would go on to do great things as a Musketeer – a statement that proved prescient.

In addition to the opportunities Ross discovered through Xavier, he also thrived thanks to the University’s emphasis on community and support. Ultimately, he appreciated attending a prestigious university that offers a unique blend of big-school amenities and small-school familiarity.

“The tradition is very rich at Xavier, and that’s a big reason why I came here,” Ross said. “From an academic standpoint, I’m really thankful to have had so many teachers who are really passionate and motivated about my success here, to the point where they’ll go on Twitter and say, ‘Go follow Brendan Ross,’ or, ‘Look what this dude is doing.’ That’s pretty remarkable to have a college experience where a teacher has your back like that.

“You’re definitely more than just a number here.”   

Ross garnered support from his teachers for good reason. His array of compelling content runs the gamut from nighttime snow photos of Xavier’s campus to up-close looks at Olympians, and of course, all things Musketeer Athletics.


After four years of hard work, Ross ended his time with Xavier Athletics on a high note, taking part in the Musketeers' memorable NIT Tournament run in March. The team captured Xavier’s second-ever NIT Championship, a feat last accomplished in 1958.

While he has worked on several exciting projects these past four years, his favorite is one that thousands of eyes behold before every Xavier basketball game. Ross produced the “We’re Going to be Friends” hype video, something any fan who has attended a home Xavier game since 2019 has experienced. Named for The White Stripes song it features, the video plays just before tipoff and never fails to amp up the crowd.

"I wanted to create a piece of content that would give people chills, that would get people going. Seeing that play out in an arena full of thousands of people, I get teary-eyed every time it happens, because it’s still bonkers to think that I got to do this for Xavier. This has been my life for the past four years, and I’m entirely grateful, blessed, thankful, every word you could think of.”

On Saturday, May 14, Ross entered the Cintas Center once more — but this time, the spotlight was on him and hundreds of his fellow graduates. Ross walked across the stage and received his bachelor's degree in digital media and public relations.
 


Given his passion for college athletics and digital media, it should come as no surprise that Ross landed a tremendous opportunity at another renowned university. Soon after graduation, he began his new job at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he serves as senior lead of social media for the university’s football team.

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