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Mr. Rahul Rohatgi ’99
Nineteen ninety-eight was a year that would evoke nostalgia for any baseball fan. After all, who could forget the nail-biting home run battle that played out between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa? The country waited to see who would reign supreme in this epic duel and it became yet another unforgettable moment for self-described “sports nut” Mr. Rahul Rohatgi ’99.
“I would print out the latest home run stats and I would post them on my locker for everyone to see as they walked by,” Rahul recalled of his junior year at Moravian Academy. Baseball, basketball, football, boxing—Rahul followed it all, and while his athletic talent landed him a spot as co-captain of the Upper School boys’ tennis team, it should come as no surprise that he found a way to turn his all-encompassing sports fandom into a dream career.
When Rahul headed off to Harvard University, it looked as though politics would be the likely path. Scholastic Scrimmage, Model Congress, and his position as senior class vice president were all character-building experiences for Rahul as an Upper School student, so his chosen political science major seemed an appropriate fit. Rahul even contemplated law school—that is until his beloved position as sports editor for The Harvard Crimson opened the door to television producing.
Like many seniors, Rahul interviewed for a slew of jobs, but it was an interview with HBO Sports that would lead to his lucky break into television. With no prior experience but an obvious admiration for sports, Rahul was offered a six-month contract and a chance to learn what it takes to produce sports news coverage.
“It was a good place to learn and they were interested in cultivating people and helping them to grow from within [the company],” Rahul said. “Once I got there, I fell in love with everything about it.”
Rahul honed his skills in the art of storytelling, grasped the ins and outs of compiling interviews and original footage, and developed the all-around know-how needed for timely reporting. He covered hot topics such as steroid use and concussions, and met many famous and retired athletes along the way.
“It obviously felt like a job—late nights, long hours—but other times I was pinching myself for getting to be able to do that stuff on a daily basis,” Rahul said.
After spending a couple of years behind the scenes of HBO’s On the Record with Bob Costas Rahul was ready to take his career to the next level. A promotion to HBO’s documentary department allowed him to work alongside “producers and writers at the top of their game” so his job began to feel less daunting, he said, and his profile as a producer was raised.
His career reached new heights in 2010 with the acclaimed documentary Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. The Magic Johnson and Larry Bird biopic won a Peabody Award and was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award—a very proud moment, he explained.
“I felt like it was the kind of documentary that people saw whether they were sports fans or not, which was really cool just to know that it seeped into the consciousness of people watching television. I’m really hoping that it stands the test of time and becomes one of the best things ever done on either of those guys.”
On the heels of this success, Rahul was wooed away from HBO by a former colleague who had moved on to the NFL Network in Los Angeles. The opportunity to become a Features Producer was too good to pass up so Rahul and wife, Emily, packed up their life in New York City and headed west.
Rahul regularly covers NFL draft picks, chronicles the careers of players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and produces pregame shows. One of his favorite projects to date was producing a special on Peyton Manning’s road to recovery after a spinal cord injury in 2012. “His coach let us into the whole experience and film everything so we had the first, exclusive coverage, seeing how Peyton went from not being able to throw the ball five yards in front of him, to gaining the form he had by the time he came back to the NFL,” he said.
Within the last year, Rahul has started his own production company, taking on projects not only for the NFL Network, but for other clients as well. The career shift has allowed Rahul and his wife to return to the East Coast and he is often able to work from his New Jersey apartment. While long hours and last-minute travel are still the norm, Rahul couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “I have to admit that I’ve been pretty lucky in the last year and it’s really going great so far.”
Back
When Rahul headed off to Harvard University, it looked as though politics would be the likely path. Scholastic Scrimmage, Model Congress, and his position as senior class vice president were all character-building experiences for Rahul as an Upper School student, so his chosen political science major seemed an appropriate fit. Rahul even contemplated law school—that is until his beloved position as sports editor for The Harvard Crimson opened the door to television producing.
Like many seniors, Rahul interviewed for a slew of jobs, but it was an interview with HBO Sports that would lead to his lucky break into television. With no prior experience but an obvious admiration for sports, Rahul was offered a six-month contract and a chance to learn what it takes to produce sports news coverage.
“It was a good place to learn and they were interested in cultivating people and helping them to grow from within [the company],” Rahul said. “Once I got there, I fell in love with everything about it.”
Rahul honed his skills in the art of storytelling, grasped the ins and outs of compiling interviews and original footage, and developed the all-around know-how needed for timely reporting. He covered hot topics such as steroid use and concussions, and met many famous and retired athletes along the way.
“It obviously felt like a job—late nights, long hours—but other times I was pinching myself for getting to be able to do that stuff on a daily basis,” Rahul said.
After spending a couple of years behind the scenes of HBO’s On the Record with Bob Costas Rahul was ready to take his career to the next level. A promotion to HBO’s documentary department allowed him to work alongside “producers and writers at the top of their game” so his job began to feel less daunting, he said, and his profile as a producer was raised.
His career reached new heights in 2010 with the acclaimed documentary Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. The Magic Johnson and Larry Bird biopic won a Peabody Award and was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award—a very proud moment, he explained.
“I felt like it was the kind of documentary that people saw whether they were sports fans or not, which was really cool just to know that it seeped into the consciousness of people watching television. I’m really hoping that it stands the test of time and becomes one of the best things ever done on either of those guys.”
On the heels of this success, Rahul was wooed away from HBO by a former colleague who had moved on to the NFL Network in Los Angeles. The opportunity to become a Features Producer was too good to pass up so Rahul and wife, Emily, packed up their life in New York City and headed west.
Rahul regularly covers NFL draft picks, chronicles the careers of players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and produces pregame shows. One of his favorite projects to date was producing a special on Peyton Manning’s road to recovery after a spinal cord injury in 2012. “His coach let us into the whole experience and film everything so we had the first, exclusive coverage, seeing how Peyton went from not being able to throw the ball five yards in front of him, to gaining the form he had by the time he came back to the NFL,” he said.
Within the last year, Rahul has started his own production company, taking on projects not only for the NFL Network, but for other clients as well. The career shift has allowed Rahul and his wife to return to the East Coast and he is often able to work from his New Jersey apartment. While long hours and last-minute travel are still the norm, Rahul couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “I have to admit that I’ve been pretty lucky in the last year and it’s really going great so far.”
