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Greg Glasser’s day job is as a personal and commercial insurance agent and broker in Columbus. But on the side, Glasser is a reporter for 270hoops.com, a website covering high school basketball in central Ohio. And his passion for the work all goes back to his time on Gridiron Glory and becoming the show’s host for its 12th season in 2010.

“During the pandemic, I had some free time and that’s how I got involved with 270hoops,” said Glasser. “It’s my 5th season working there, and I love it. The fact that I had a journalism background and passion for high school sports journalism helped me find an opportunity that allowed me to enjoy that passion again.”

That passion for sports started when Glasser was growing up in Upper Arlington, Ohio. When he graduated from high school, he knew he wanted to study sports journalism in college.

“The reputation of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism was wonderful. I knew it was a great program,” said Glasser. “I also liked that I was able to start taking classes in my major right away as a freshman. I knew some people who went to 51���� and heard some good things about it. Then, when I visited, I really loved the campus.”

Glasser was recruited to work on WOUB’s Gridiron Glory the summer before he started classes in Athens.

“I knew Matt Barnes (season 9 and 10 host, now morning anchor at NBC 4 in Columbus) and he reached out to me over the summer and told me that Gridiron was something I definitely needed to do,” said Glasser. “He told me that if I was interested in sports broadcasting, it was something I HAD to do.”

But Glasser wasn’t sure he wanted to start with Gridiron so early in his college career.

“The date Matt gave me was the first Friday I was in town. It was the day I was moving in, and I just didn’t know if I wanted to spend my first night on campus doing an extracurricular,” said Glasser with a laugh. “But Barnes convinced me it would be worth my time. And as they say, the rest is history.”

Glasser spent his freshman year shadowing reporters and going to games. By the end of that season, Glasser was doing some reporting. During his sophomore and junior years, Glasser became a reporter for the show. Then for his senior year, he was named host.

“It was really humbling to become host. I knew the responsibility that came with it,” said Glasser. “It wasn’t only from a leadership standpoint for the Gridiron team, it was a tremendous amount of responsibility because of how big of an impact the show had on the southeast Ohio community. Being able to go out to games from my freshman through junior years, I saw the impact the show had on the local community and how we were able to deliver a high school football show that was in some ways better than some of the bigger TV markets in Ohio. There was a real responsibility to continue to deliver a professional and high-quality product because the community members looked forward to watching the program every single week.”

When it was time for Glasser to graduate, life circumstances changed his path, and he decided to pursue a career outside of sports journalism. He did, for a time, work in media in advertising and marketing, but has largely spent his career working in the insurance industry. However, he treasures his years as part of the Gridiron team.

“To know that the show has been on the air for 25 seasons, I feel a little old,” said Glasser. “But It’s impressive and speaks to the dedication, professionalism and commitment of the students and WOUB staff to continue such a vital program for the region. I think media exposure for high school athletes has diminished in the last 10 to 15 years. So, for Gridiron to be able to continue this, at such a high level, is heartwarming to see.”

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