From Reston roots to the Hall of Fame: South Lakes alumnus honored for broadcasting career

by Ellyn Wexler, Staff Writer

Andrew Siciliano broadcasts from the Paris Olympics at NBC's Gold Zone. Photo courtesy of Andrew Siciliano

A hometown kid who once filled notebooks with sports stats and stories will be honored on Saturday, Nov. 1, when WAER at Syracuse University inducts broadcaster Andrew Siciliano into its Hall of Fame.

Siciliano grew up in Reston and graduated from South Lakes High School in 1992. His parents, Abbey and Stephen, still live in the community where they remember him as a boy who could talk endlessly about games and players.

“Yes, I was obsessed,” he recalled. “I listened to baseball games every night on my clock radio or Walkman, spent every dollar I made mowing lawns or babysitting on baseball cards, and always aspired to do something in sports. Long before the Red Zone Channel, I bounced between every baseball game on the radio anywhere on the East Coast.”

At South Lakes, Siciliano covered teams for the school’s Sentinel newspaper. Although he didn’t play beyond Little League, he already had his sights set on Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism. “I wouldn’t be here without Syracuse,” he said. “Newhouse didn’t teach you how to be a sportscaster, but it puts you in a hyper-competitive environment with like-minded people.”

Freshman year, he auditioned for WAER and was accepted. Soon he was calling play-by-play for basketball, football, and lacrosse, including Syracuse’s 1996 NCAA Tournament run. “I spent nearly every day of my college life at that station,” he said. “I made friends for life. Professional awards are nice—this means more.”

His professional career launched in Chicago, covering the Bears for WMAQ-670 AM and earning multiple AIR Awards. From there, he moved to Los Angeles, co-hosting on Fox Sports Radio and calling Arena Football League games.

In 2005, Siciliano became the host of DIRECTV’s Red Zone Channel. For 18 seasons, fans came to know his rapid-fire updates as he whipped around NFL action. “Bringing the Red Zone Channel to air and helping to innovate the concept of live sports television whip-around shows” is one of his proudest achievements, he said.

Along the way, he anchored NFL Network programs, covered the Super Bowl and Draft, and won an Emmy for NBC’s Olympic Gold Zone coverage. In 2024, he became the radio voice of the Cleveland Browns, succeeding longtime broadcaster Jim Donovan in 2024.

WAER Director of Development Tracy Caryl called his journey from student broadcaster to national voice “a clear testament to his hard work and passion.” She also praised his dedication to mentoring students, reviewing tapes, offering critiques, and funding equipment and travel. “His career is a model for our students,” she said. “We are honoring him not just for what he has accomplished, but for how he has inspired the next generation. He also just happens to be a really great, down-to-earth guy.”

For his parents, the Hall of Fame induction is a moment of pride not only for their son, but also for the Reston community that nurtured his early dreams—a journey that began with a clock radio in his bedroom and now echoes in stadiums across the country.