DU to Host Taping of Marquee Sports Network’s ‘Hollywood and Ivy’ with Alum Brigham Avery and Cubs Announcer Miguel Esparza
River Forest, IL—Dominican University alum Brigham Avery will bring his Marquee Sports Network series, Hollywood and Ivy, to his alma mater on May 21 for a special on-campus filming of a new episode featuring Miguel Esparza, the Spanish language play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks.
The event, part of Dominican’s 125th anniversary celebration, will give audience members a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the Chicago Cubs-themed celebrity interview show while spotlighting the professional success and achievements of Dominican alumnae/i.
The show will be filmed in front of a live audience on Thursday, May 21 inside the Lund Auditorium in Dominican University’s Performing Arts Center, 7900 W. Division St. in River Forest.
Doors open at 10 a.m. and members of the public are invited to attend the free event. No registration is necessary.
The episode is slated to air on Marquee Sports Network later this month and again during Hispanic Heritage Month in September.
Avery, a native of Oak Park and a 2004 graduate of Dominican University, studied corporate communications at the River Forest campus and leveraged the skills he learned in the classroom to pursue an impactful career as a recognized producer, interviewer and digital creator.
“Dominican’s faculty and staff—everyone—taught me to believe in myself,” Avery said. “And that’s what Hollywood and Ivy is a product of—believing and knowing that you can make things happen. I got great support at Dominican. It was an amazing time and I’m glad to be coming back.”
Centered around a love for all things Cubs, Hollywood and Ivy features unassuming conversations between Avery and celebrity Cubs fans. Cubs culture, memories of Wrigley Field, and the current season’s ups and downs for the North Siders mix with topics about show business and Chicago.
Past guests have included Hollywood actors Joe Mantegna (who also serves as co-executive producer of the show), Gary Sinise, Bob Odenkirk, Bonnie Hunt, and the late George Wendt, and musician Billy Corgan, among other notable names.
Avery’s May 21 interview with Esparza will explore the announcer’s illustrious career as the Spanish voice of Chicago sports, his roots in Humboldt Park and how his fandom for the Cubs unfolded.
Avery launched Hollywood and Ivy with Mantegna, a Cicero native and fellow Cubs fan, in 2021. He has also hosted and co-produced the sports and comedy podcast KBS Live and the University of Notre Dame-centered program Under the Golden Dome.
“The fact that the idea for Hollywood and Ivy came from a Dominican University graduate is a testament to the quality of that institution,” Mantegna said.
About Dominican University
Founded in 1901, Dominican University is a comprehensive, coeducational Catholic institution with campuses in River Forest and Chicago. The university offers an associate of arts in liberal arts and sciences; bachelor’s and master’s degrees through the Rosary College of Arts, Education, and Sciences, the College of Business, Information Studies, and Technology, and the Borra College of Health Sciences; as well as doctoral programs in information studies, applied social justice and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
As Chicago's premier Catholic Hispanic-Serving Institution, Dominican is consistently recognized as a leader in academic excellence and value. U.S. News & World Report ranks Dominican University in the top 25 of Midwest regional master’s level universities, and #1 in Illinois for Best Value and ensuring the social mobility of its graduates. Learn more at dom.edu.
