Hall ditches ESPN's 'dream job' for Big Ten Network

A few years before becoming a reality TV champion, Glen Ellyn's Mike Hall was a typical college freshman trying to find some friends in a sea of strangers.Unsure which way to turn on the crowded University of Missouri campus, Hall sought the advice of friends who had already gone out of state for college."There were two common themes: One was they tried Ultimate Frisbee, and the other was they tried improv," Hall said. "They both sounded like collegiate things to do."So Hall tried both and quickly found a home at Missouri's improv comedy group, known as Comedy Wars. He enjoyed the experience so much, he took classes at ComedySportz and Improv Olympic in Chicago during the summers and still attends improv shows regularly.The ability to think fast in front of a live audience paid off in his senior year at Missouri. That's when Hall became famous for winning ESPN's first season of "Dream Job," a show where aspiring sportscasters competed to win a job at the cable network giant."I tell people that more than anything, that (improv) training helped me do what I do, more than any other class I took," said Hall, a broadcast journalism major. "Things are going to screw up at all times in live TV, so you've got to be able to not suck your thumb and cry -- which I'm sure there is video of me doing. But you've also got to make it seem like that's what was supposed to happen."Hall met one of his comedy heroes during his time as an anchor on ESPNU."Mike's a huge fan of the Muppets," college classmate Kevin Allen said. "He does a pretty funny Kermit the Frog impression. One time he called me on cloud nine excited because one of his producers had arranged for Kermit the Frog to share the mic for his weekly college football show."It's so funny that here's a guy who has interviewed future Hall of Fame NFL players, some of the most impressive athletes in the world, and one of the times he was most excited was when Kermit the Frog said his name on the air."A few months ago, Hall tried some career improvisation. Three years after winning "Dream Job," he quit ESPN to join the Chicago-based Big Ten Network. The debut of Hall's signature show, "Friday Night Tailgate" was Aug. 31."People often ask who on Earth leaves the 'Worldwide Leader' at age 25?" Hall said. "There's not one reason why. There's a lot of reasons why."One of the biggest was Hall's legion of friends and family scattered around the Chicago area. His home for the past two years was Charlotte, N.C., where ESPNU is headquartered. It's quite a distance from ESPN's home base of Bristol, Conn.Faced with a choice of living in one of those three cities, the decision to move was easy for Hall."Chicago's not only the greatest summer town, but it's a great place to be young and single," he said. "That's not a knock on Charlotte. I think Charlotte's a great place, but I didn't really fit in there at this time of life, and Bristol's the same thing. If you have a family and you're established, both of those towns are wonderful."There were like nine reasons (for quitting ESPN), but certainly one of the biggest ones was being able to be in Chicago and be near family and friends."Hall does have fond memories of the eight months he spent at ESPN's Bristol studios, where he frequently appeared on ESPNews. Hall said the network's massive campus now occupies 15 buildings, up from 11 when he left for Charlotte in 2005."It's so huge and so intimate at the same time," he said. "I'd walk through the hallway and pass Karl Ravech and then Stuart Scott and Dan Patrick and John Anderson, and you're like, 'Geez, these are guys I look up to and are huge stars in the sportscasting world and they're just colleagues.' That's something I got a kick out of."The Big Ten Network is off to a great start, airing Appalachian State's upset of Michigan in Week 1 and exciting victories by Northwestern and Wisconsin the following week. For now, the BTN is available in the Chicago area on DirectTV and Dish Network, since Comcast cable has yet to reach an agreement to carry the network."The good thing, I think, about the network is they're not starting small," Hall said. "They're not saying, 'We're going to put a little bit of money in and just kind of see where it goes and bit by bit we'll add stuff.' "Maybe Hall has found his dream job after all.