By Peter Castillo

Sports Editor  

  The “Voice of the ‘Runners”, Corey Costelloe, has decided to step down from his position.

  Costelloe served as the Assistant Athletics’ Director for Communications and was the play-by-play announcer for the men’s basketball and baseball teams here at CSU Bakersfield.

  Costelloe will be taking a position in the city manager’s office of his native Tehachapi.

  “I’m basically the assistant to the city manager,” said Costelloe. “I’m gonna be working on any city projects that come up, economic developments, tourism and help the city grow responsibly.”

  Costelloe announced his decision to step down from his position at CSUB on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

  Costelloe cites being away from his family and the grind of being on radio as a reason for his departure.

  Costelloe has also recently moved back to Tehachapi and has been commuting back and forth to Bakersfield for the past few months.

  “This opportunity opened up and it was time for me to look for something else,” said Costelloe. “Doing the radio stuff for 14 years and being on campus and all the time spent on the road, makes its hard especially with a family at home.”

  Costelloe has broadcasted men’s basketball games at CSUB since the 2003-2004 season and baseball games since the program’s inception in 2009 through Roadrunner Sports Properties and Learfield. He worked for American General Media, which carried the games and worked closely with the university.

  “The first road game I worked was in 2004 at Stanislaus State and I remember how excited I was to be on the road with the team,” said Costelloe.

He became a full-time employee at CSUB in 2011.

  When Costelloe was initially hired in 2011, he served as the Director of the New Media/Broadcasting. He was promoted in 2014 to the position he stepped down from.

  In addition to doing play-by-play broadcasts, Costelloe also serves as the host and producer of the athletic departments’ web show, “Roadrunner Rundown.”  Costelloe would interview CSUB athletes and coaches as well as provide highlights and recaps of that week’s action. 

  Prior to Costelloe’s arrival at CSUB, the digital media department at CSUB was less than ideal.

  Costelloe remembers the first soccer match that was streamed was shot with one camera and one microphone.  

  “When I first came here, we essentially had nothing, we had one audio mixer and one laptop under a desk,” said Costelloe. “Now we have thousands of dollars of HD streaming equipment, we do live digital broadcasts, with graphics and replays. It’s been cool to see that change.”

  Athletics’ Director, Kenneth “Ziggy” Seigfried praised Costelloe for the professionalism he brought to the table and his significance to the department.

  “Corey made a huge impact when he arrived,” said Seigfried. “He’s built it from the ground up, he was with us from the beginning and he’s stuck with us.”

  Assistant Sports Information Director, Isaac Comelli echoed the praise that Seigfried had for Costelloe and the standard that he set.

  “Corey contributed a lot to the quality and setting a new standard for what our department produced,” said Comelli. “Corey always said that he didn’t want to put anything out there with my name on it if it wasn’t good quality.”

  Comelli also said that Costelloe refused to cut corners in his work and do things just to get by.

  Seigfried noted that there is currently an ongoing search for Costelloe’s replacement and a decision will be made within the next few weeks.

  “We are in a position now, where we are recognized nationally,” said Seigfried. “We’ve had over 120 applicants and our goal is to find exactly what we need.”

  Costelloe said that his postion will most likely be divided between two people. One will handle the digital media responsibilites while the other will solely take on play-by-play duties.

  Costelloe’s departure coincides with the recent run of success that several programs have experienced at CSUB.

  “It all happened at the right time,” said Comelli. “I think Corey was the right person to be here to make sure that when we had those moments in the spotlight that they weren’t wasted.”

  Costelloe explained how remarkable the change was that he experienced as a broadcaster at CSUB.

  “Looking back at all the places I’ve done games in, the small gyms and weird setups, to go from that to essentially my last game being at Madison Square Garden, to go out like that is pretty cool.”

  Costelloe’s last day at CSUB was Friday, Sept. 8.