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The former cross country coach at Syracuse University probably doesn’t even know he changed my life in 2016. He only said two words.
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But I’m sure he noticed just how nervous I was. The hand holding my reporter’s notebook was shaking as I read the questions I had written down directly off the page. He had to listen to me as my voice trembled. No way I listened to anything he said. I was 18 years old, dead-set on becoming a sports journalist. Yet, when The Daily Orange assigned me my first story on SU distance runner Paige Stoner, I was totally frazzled by the idea of … doing an interview.
Then-Syracuse coach Chris Fox, luckily, was cool about it.
“Good questions,” Fox said to me.
I think about that moment a lot. Because, no, I don’t think I asked “good” questions. Yet his simple encouragement — two words — was enough for me to seek another interview. Then another.
Thousands of those later, I’m now the University of North Carolina sports reporter at the Raleigh News & Observer. And that still feels awesome to type, even four weeks into being here, at a place that’s already sent me to Dublin, Ireland, and Clemson, South Carolina to cover the Tar Heels.
I love that story about Fox for two reasons:
1. Because it’s an example of how easy yet impactful kindness can be.
And 2. Because it’s funny to think back on a time when interviews scared me.
Doing a lot of interviews is essential to the type of work I love to do. I’m deeply passionate about telling the stories that help readers form a deeper connection and understanding of the sports figures they watch in person and on TV. It’s led me to document cancer fights, injury recoveries, succession stories at the high school and college level and the love of family members, as well as stories of doubt, triumph and the power of keeping someone’s memory alive.
I’m also unafraid to be the person in the room to ask the tough questions, if need be.
I covered high school sports and the University of South Dakota at the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a little over a year after graduating from Syracuse. I then spent three-plus years covering the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, Wisconsin.
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The Triangle’s a bit bigger of a market than those places, but I grew up in Long Island, New York, right outside of New York City, so that doesn’t necessarily scare me, either.
Entering a beat like North Carolina, I hope to use what I’ve learned from my past experiences to tell meaningful stories about the Tar Heels.
I’ve already had the opportunity to do a few such stories, like one about a Tar Heels fan from Wales; or an Irish sheep farmer with a UNC-adjacent connection in Dublin; or one about a UNC student who dreams of kicking for UNC football. I’ve also covered a discussion about athletics spending at a UNC System Board of Governors committee meeting, developments in an investigation into the UNC football program during the week and that same UNC football’s games over the weekend.
I want to be everywhere and talk to as many people as I can to learn how I can best cover UNC athletics. So if you have a tip, want to talk UNC sports or simply want to say hi, please email me at [email protected] or find me on X, Instagram and TikTok at @MikeJMcCleary.
I feel lucky to be in a position covering one of the country’s most iconic athletic departments. I promise I’ll ask some good questions.
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This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 11:31 AM.