Joe Lunardi, better known to the world as “Joe Brackets,” was once the voice of the Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball team, writes Mia Messina for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Lunardi covered the Hawks for the school paper. Today, he is synonymous with March Madness itself.

He earned his famous nickname as the longtime ESPN personality who came up with the term “bracketology” as part of his in-season predictions.

Lunardi returned to his alma mater several years after graduation to work at the newly-launched St. Joseph’s Sports Network. He also wrote for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook on the side.

When the Blue Ribbon added a postseason NCAA Tournament guide in 1995, bracketology was born. The following year, Lunardi started projecting the field for ESPN.com.

His rise to fame since has been unprecedented.

But through it all, he never stopped promoting St. Joseph’s.

“I’ve thought about it many times — when should I stop doing St. Joe’s games? — and I still like it too much,” said Lunardi. “It’s a way to represent my school and stay connected to something that was in my professional DNA for 35 years.”

Read more about Joe Lunardi in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Joe Lunardi breaks down his 2024 men’s NCAA tournament bracket pick-by-pick.