Meet the man that has quickly become synonymous with URI Athletics. Photo Credit Siobhan Richards.
Discovering your passion in life is not always an easy thing; when you find a love for something, there are always going to be obstacles along the way that make you rethink that love.
Stone Freeman, a sports broadcaster and former Harrington School student, has, without a doubt, discovered his passion for University of Rhode Island athletics and has never wavered despite struggles along the way.
Freeman first discovered his love for sports broadcasting during his sophomore year at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, when the school started the Hendricken Sports Network (HSN).
“’I always thought I wanted to be a movie director,” Freeman said. “But when the HSN started, I decided I would just throw myself into it, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
As a high school senior, Freeman was deciding on where he wanted to continue his budding sports broadcasting career, stuck between URI and Quinnipiac University. Initially, he chose to attend Quinnipiac, but was immediately unsure about the decision. His mom told him to “take a breather on it,” and Freeman talked it over with his family, weighing the pros and cons of each school. He eventually realized Rhody was the clear choice.
He hit the ground running when he got to Kingston and immersed himself in opportunities that the Harrington School provides — joining the student radio and the Good Five Cent Cigar as a freshman. He made numerous connections along the way and emphasized the importance of relationships.
“When you care around here, it goes a little further,” Freeman said. “We have a chip on our shoulder at URI, and, when you find people who want to work, you stick together.”
After a number of years working for the radio and newspaper and earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a Ram, Freeman was presented with an opportunity to work with the sports information department within athletics. Though the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on the experience, Freeman was able to continue to make connections with the people in the department and said that has made the biggest difference for him in his love for URI.
“Many people have come in and out of the Athletic Department since I have been here, but I still hear from present and former coaches and players every day,” he said. “It is those relationships that started my love for URI.”
One of the key relationships Freeman made along the way was with fellow classmate and announcer, Jack O’Marra. They worked together essentially from the beginning and were immediately drawn to each other’s work ethic.
“Right away, when I met Stone, I knew he was different,” O’Marra said. “He worked so hard and was so goal-oriented like I am. It was amazing to grow through college with him.”
He also emphasized how much they learned from each other and pushed each other along the way.
“It is a challenge being a full-time student and working for the radio and newspaper as well,” said O’Marra. “During the dog days when we would be covering a sport in terrible weather with a lot of work waiting for us at home, I would look to my right and think, ‘If Stone can do it so can I.’ It gave me that sense of confidence.”
After all the hard work and relationships made, Freeman’s favorite memories came from his senior year at Rhody and during his final broadcasts as a student.
“Just looking behind me my senior year and seeing my parents wearing headphones in the stadium at basketball games so they can listen to the broadcast was surreal,” he said. “It meant so much to me that my parents supported my journey so much.”
In addition to working in athletics and broadcasting games, Freeman is also a Communications 100 professor, showing that his love for Rhody hasn’t dissipated in any way.
“I get to teach here and announce here. That’s not for everyone, but for me, I can’t ask for anything more,” he said.