Nate Bauer: At On3.com, the Blue White team is intact

My first conversation with On3 CEO Shannon Terry was an argument.

Last spring, Terry had invited me to chat over a Zoom call to offer a glimpse at what the new network had in store for the future of this business. He was excited about the possibilities already in development for the network of sites, which was set to include Penn State as one of its flagship markets. We met to gauge my interest in joining that site, and for him to see if I’d be a good fit. 

Initially, I don’t think either of us were sure.

In this, my 17th season covering Penn State football and men’s basketball for Blue-White Illustrated, career stability has been a constant. I started as a paid intern with former publisher Phil Grosz during the Nittany Lions’ resurgent 2005 Orange Bowl season and, aside from a brief blip the next spring, have never really left. 

That meant I had a steady job, with a steady income, doing professionally what I had always wanted to do: cover Penn State sports with accuracy, honesty, and insight.

Understanding that a transition was certain to take place, the fork in my career showed two divergent opportunities without a clear winner at first. 

I could branch out on my own and leave the Blue-White Illustrated brand behind, taking the reputation and community I’d worked to build for the past 17 years and establishing it in a completely new space. Or, I could join a collection of talented individuals who I’d had the pleasure of calling colleagues at On3. 

Honestly, the first option had a certain appeal.

The chance to be my own boss, with the opportunity to choose every direction taken by my new endeavor, the autonomy stood as my chance to finally do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to do it. But Terry, a veteran in the field with established experience building unimaginably successful businesses, wouldn’t oblige even another minute of my phony fantasy. He told me, without reservation, all of the ways I was misguided about those ideas and the realities of going out on my own while highlighting On3 and all of its possibilities. 

“What does autonomy look like?” he asked. How would being the boss go with a completely unfamiliar cast around me? And, maybe most important, why was so much of my thought process fixated on just me?

What I stubbornly rejected at the time, but have come to appreciate and understand deeply since, is a reality that truly dictates business success. And, I should add, it is especially true of this business.

You are only as good as the team around you, and with Blue-White Illustrated at On3, I could be a part of the best, most exciting team of my career. 

By my side, I’d work alongside arguably one of the best team-specific recruiting reporters in this entire game in Ryan Snyder. His tireless effort has been a fixture of his work since he joined BWI more than a decade ago, fresh out of college. Ryan has never wavered in his unique ability to establish relationships, garner the most accurate and insightful information, and pass that along to recruiting die-hards thirsting for his perspective.

I’d continue to work with the absolute pro’s pro, five-tool writer, editor, and indefatigable sounding board, Matt Herb. I’d continue to work with David Eckert, a thoughtful, funny, gifted young writer and reporter. 

And to my absolute delight, the additions of both Greg Pickel, a multi-talented, dogged reporter, and Thomas Frank Carr, a true expert in the game with the ability to educate the masses to its intricacies, have rounded out what is undeniably the most robust team anywhere covering Penn State sports at On3. (That none of them appear to ever need sleep, their work ever-present seemingly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is a bonus)

That spirit and commitment to excellence that is ingrained in every facet of the On3 network were what ultimately brought me aboard. It is also what will produce the quality of work that I have no doubt will serve as the foundation of the community of readers and fans that is built around it. 

As we make this transition into our new On3 network that will be our exciting new home now and for years to come, it’s this sense of community and teamwork of which I feel so excited and blessed to be a part. Whether I knew it immediately or if it took some time to fully sink in, that invaluable lesson has repeatedly resonated with me in the build-up to this incredible day.

Shannon was right: Our shared commitment to excellence is inspiring, the possibilities ahead of us are invigorating, this team is awesome, and I am overwhelmed and thrilled to be getting started.

No argument, there.