Chris Rivezzo on Finding His Passion and Bringing It Back to Marist

Chris Rivezzo working at a sports game, in action at ESPN. Source and Credit: Christopher Rivezzo

Chirs Rivezzo ‘96 combines both his career and teaching pursuits while at Marist.

Starting out as a transfer soccer player, to now a producer on ESPN, Chris Riviezzo ‘96 shares his story growing up with Marist College.

“I am a graduate of Marist; however, I started at Syracuse and didn’t love it,” said Riviezzo. After choosing Syracuse for its sports communication program, he transferred his junior year following a gut feeling of wanting to be at Marist.

“I was a communication major with a concentration in radio, TV, and film,” says Riviezzo. “In high school, I was a sports fan, and my goal was to work in sports TV somehow.” 

That dream has come true; Riviezzo has been a studio producer at ESPN since 2001, an extremely hands-on job. People need to work together as a team and trust one another to produce the best content. And Riviezzo explained that he always had people to help him while working at ESPN. 

“In this profession, I have gotten a lot of guidance, and I always thought I wanted to give that back,” said Riviezzo, explaining why he came back to his alma matter.

“I always keep tabs on Marist, and I saw a job opening.” Riviezzo then called Marist and started in 2019 as an adjunct professor. Since the summer of 2022, he has been the interim director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication. 

Riviezzo emphasized the importance of soaking up as much knowledge as possible and being in more hands-on environments. “If I were a student again, I would just want to be more involved,” said Riviezzo. “Marist is a special place to me; it is where I want to give back to the community.”