Dalton Holland ’21 turned his boredom and extreme love for sports into a podcast during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Now he is the CEO and founder of a popular Philadelphia sports podcast and social media account known as 302BIRDS.
302BIRDS is a sports content company focused on Philadelphia sports and culture. The company puts out content on Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.
“We strive to make people laugh, give people awesome Philly sports knowledge, and just kind of highlight what the culture is like being a Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania or New Jersey [Philly] sports fan,” said Holland.
Holland began his podcasting journey in 2020 with “Up For Debate Sports Podcast,” a show that followed NFL and NBA sports news. In 2021, Holland made a switch and created 302BIRDS to focus on content that he was more passionate about.
“I’ve been a Philly sports fan my whole life growing up in South Jersey,” Holland said. “I was born into it. I like to say I came out of the womb an Eagles fan. From a young age, I’ve always had a passion for it.”
Holland said that posting daily videos on the 302BIRDS TikTok account is what helped the podcast reach double-digit Spotify plays each week. “We used to get lucky to get five to six [plays],” said Holland. “Now we’re at 50 a week.”
Since 2021, the TikTok account for 302BIRDS has 31,200 followers.
KJ McCoy, co-founder of 302BIRDS, said interacting, networking and responding to fans is one of their keys to success.
“We just try and just be more than just a podcast,” McCoy said. “I want to have a conversation with you [fans].”
Frank Sorochen ’23, a follower of the 302BIRDS podcast and social media since 2021, said he enjoys the variety of content on 302BIRDS.
“It’s a great Eagles account, but it’s a great Philadelphia sports account as well,” Sorochen said. “From the Eagles stuff and their opinion on whatever signings or trades or anything and then other stuff like them posting their top five cheesesteaks in the city.”
Holland said his St. Joe’s professors deserve credit for giving him the skills that he used to make 302BIRDS successful.
“I took countless classes on really just how to grow a brand, marketing-wise, and how to manage people,” said Holland. “I don’t think that I would feel more prepared, going to a school rather than St. Joe’s, to be a CEO at such a young age.”
Sorochen said that it is great to see that a St. Joe’s alum is successful doing something that he loves. “It’s just the spirit of The Hawk Will Never Die,” said Sorochen.
