The phone rang long ago at a Cardiff home, and yes, on something called a landline. The voice on the other end purred like magic.
Make that Magic, as in Magic Johnson.
“I couldn’t believe he called back,” Olivia Stomski said.
Johnson wasn’t a friend but was familiar with Stomski, who attended his annual basketball camp.
Stomski was once a stellar hoops player at San Dieguito and La Costa Canyon high schools. She stood at 6 feet, with a batch of blonde hair that rode along with an infectious personality.
“I sort of stuck out,” she said.
When Stomski’s father, Pete, reached out to Johnson, he didn’t strike out. His daughter was curious about a career in sports broadcasting, and pops went straight to the guy with pop in the business.
“When he left the message, I didn’t expect to hear back,” Stomski said.
Johnson’s reply and advice was a slam dunk.
“I talked to Bob, and he said you have to go to Syracuse,” Johnson said.
Bob?
“That’s what I said,” Stomski added.
The elder Stomski rolled his eyes, wondering where he went astray with his sports-loving daughter. That’s Bob, as in the legendary Bob Costas, one of the endless marquee names that got their start at Syracuse.
Not only did Stomski graduate from Syracuse, but she also started a successful company producing sporting events, working with ESPN, Fox Sports and everyone in between.
She drifted back to upstate New York in 2017 to serve as the director of Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, Sports Media Center. Her hiring raised eyebrows, with her being 36 and a female, tasked with leading the nation’s No. 1 sports broadcasting institution.
Stomski, who grew up in Cardiff, just shrugged, went to work and continued to help students of both genders make their marks.
Syracuse and Stomski are in town next week for Friday’s Holiday Bowl against Washington State. Stomski was walking her dog when word leaked that Syracuse was headed to San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.
“I was so excited because I’ll get home for a week,” she said. “Everyone else wanted to go to Florida.”
Instead, Stomski and crew head west, where the recollections will flood the memory bank of someone attending Ada Harris Elementary School and Oak Crest Middle School.
Those good ol’ days include what Stomski calls her “claim to fame.”
“I went to La Costa Canyon the first year it opened and was the class president,” she said. “So I was the first person to get their diploma from there. Although I’m really a San Dieguito Mustang at heart.”
Now she’s part of the Syracuse Mafia, and that’s a good thing. It’s a playful moniker for what it means to be a Newhouse School student and the doors that swing open because of it.
“It’s such a special place and has always been a special place,” she said. “The first thing is the opportunity our students have and the professional experience they gain. And our alumni really care about the students.”
It’s an alumni list that Stomski proudly rattles off, including some of the business giants: Marv Albert, Mike Tirico, Ian Eagle, Sean McDonough and Costas.
“I never have trouble asking them to help a student,” she said. “They always pick up when I call.”
All because her father rang Johnson, which led to a thrilling and unexpected career for Stomski.
Magic, indeed.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] and follow him @jparis_sports
