Syracuse fans will hear a different voice over the public address system at the Carrier Dome this season. 'Mr. Excitement' Michael Veley takes over behind the microphone, replacing Carl Eilenberg who retired after the 2005-06 season. Syracuse University director of athletics Dr. Daryl Gross introduced Veley at a press conference on Wednesday.
"Michael Veley is truly the right person for this job" Gross said. "His loyalty to Syracuse has been observed by many for years. He has the experience. His heart and passion will be felt by all of us in his voice on gameday."
Veley is no stranger to the Syracuse Orange football, men's basketball and men's lacrosse programs. He spent eight years as assistant director of athletics for external affairs after serving for two years as the assistant director of athletics for marketing, promotions and special events at Syracuse. For the past 11 years, he has worked at the Carrier Dome, alongside Eilenberg, coordinating various entertainment and marketing aspects of games.
"It's truly an honor to become the Carrier Dome public address announcer, especially following the consummate professional that Carl Eilenberg was during his quarter-century behind the microphone," Veley said. "I take the responsibility very seriously and hope to continue the legacy."
In addition to being the new announcer at the Dome, Veley also has a scholastic involvement with Syracuse, serving as the director of the Sport Management program.
"No, I don't feel the pressure's on the public address announcer," Veley said. "As I said, the fans don't come to the game to hear me. Do I hope we can help the team? Absolutely. If my job is to get fans to come to the game and be part of the excitement and get this program turned around, I certainly am here to help the athletic department do that. I believe in coach (Greg) Robinson. He has a plan and a plan can't happen overnight. I would encourage fans that are on the fence to come out Saturday and get behind this team. If you're passionate about a program, it's sort of like being passionate about your family. If a member of your family is going through a tough time, you don't abandon a family member. You are there to try to help them through the tough time and its all the more gratifying at the other end of it. I hope our fans kind of take that approach. Obviously, the more fans there are in the crowd, the more excitement there is in the team and the more excitement I feel as the PA announcer. We have no excuse. Let's rally around the troops, show up, and wear your orange on Saturday."
Veley came to Syracuse from Cornell University, where he was the associate athletics director for communications from 1990-95. He served as assistant director of media services and was the manager of the Educational Television and Radio Center at Cornell. Veley also spent 10 years as senior broadcast news editor at Cornell, where he received 35 state and national awards for news programming.
Prior to Cornell, Veley was director of electronic media services at the University of Illinois.
In his hometown of Dryden, Veley is on the Board of Directors for the Dryden Sertoma Club and was named the Sertoman of the Year in 1985. In 1993, he was honored as the East New York/New England and Allegheny Region Sertoman of the Year.
Veley is a graduate of SUNY-Geneseo and received a master's degree in communications from Cornell.