Behind The Scenes Of ECH - Q&A With The Founder James Murray
written by Ariana Ottrando - may 22, 2023Few brands are trending as well as 'Everything College Hockey.' Well, to people in the hockey world anyway.
Since founding the label in 2017, James Murray, then a sophomore at Bemidji State University and now an entrepreneur from Bloomington, Minnesota, has dedicated over six years to building the ECH brand into what he hopes will one day be the most successful source for college hockey in the country.
Born and raised in Minnesota, Murray started skating in his backyard with an outdoor rink built by his father. His local teams, the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Golden Gophers, were his first introduction to professional-level play.
Murray played hockey until his freshman year of high school, when he got injured and had to temporarily leave the ice.
Realizing his dream to play professionally wasn't realistic, Murray transferred his attention to the business side of things, fulfilling the dream of working in Division 1 hockey. This took off for him at BSU, where he was student manager for the team under Toby Palmiscno.
At the same time, he launched 'Everything College Hockey,' created to "grow the game of hockey at all levels with an emphasis on promoting collegiate hockey for men and women."
"My goal was to outgrow [competitor] College Hockey Inc. — who was big on Twitter, but small on Instagram — but still, that was big at the time for me. I just wanted to be the No. 1 source for college hockey," said Murray.
With 127,000 followers on Instagram, 32,000 on TikTok and 14,000 on Twitter — and an expanding network of podcast listeners — 'Everything College Hockey' is on its way to hitting that goal. From his apartment in Richfield, Murray spoke about the beginnings of ECH, how the team builds and manages content, and his favorite memories from the journey thus far. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: So how long were you operating alone? When was your first media trip?
A: A little over a year by myself. Towards the end of 2018 I brought on my co-host [Connor Thelemann] and then I got my camera guy [Myles York]. So 2019 was our first trip, went to North Dakota. I was 22 years old going into the locker room with cameras and stuff. We had no idea what we were doing. I was like wow, there's a need for this in college hockey. Recruiting video coaches can use this, players can use it.
Q: Now that the team is bigger, how do you delegate responsibilities? Is there a rotation system or does everyone concentrate on different components?
A: I'd say it's changed a lot, it changes every year it seems like. We all kind of have our designated role, but we all have certain skills too that we focus on. Every weekend we meet before [games], make sure we're filled for content from everywhere. We're teaching each other how to do each role so we could all cover it, if needed. We all have our strengths. We also have a manager, so I work with her to get deals done and stuff like that.
Q: So with the rapid growth of ECH over the last few years, how do you balance your other jobs? At what point do you make ECH your full-time commitment?
A: Last year. We were at 23,000 [Instagram followers] or so at the start of the season. And we grew to like, damn near 60,000. And then the offseason we grew like 15,000. And then the start of the year, we grew like 40,000 — so [it] blew up really quick. This year, I've definitely skipped a lot of work to try and make this a career. It's tough to grow and you have to get to schools and stuff like that. But this year, I really wanted to focus on making more money as a business, so that was the main goal. And getting more followers, which we've done, but wanna two-times that and make it a career.
Q: So take me through how the team approaches the podcast. Do you record on a schedule or is it up to when the players get back to you?
A: Yeah, we kind of get the non-traditional way. I still know some of these guys and they're still within our age range. So I usually just DM them and say 'Hey, are you interested in being on the podcast?' Who's the biggest story right now? Or the biggest star? Who's gonna be a good storyteller? I kind of do my research on a week to week basis. I know guys on every team, so they know who's a good interviewer, who's not. Once they say yes, I try to reach out to the school as well, or they'll reach out to the school — one of the two — and we go from there.
Q: We touched on gaining more followers. What’s the next big goal you want to accomplish for ECH?
A: I guess my goal for the longest time was to get more followers than [the] NCAA for hockey. When we did that this year, I was kind of like, 'Alright, now we're gonna get on TV.' That's my next goal, is getting on TV with these guys, or just by ourselves, and find a way to get out there. I think there's a huge room for growth still. We want to grow to what college basketball is. Probably never get to college football, like no sport will match that. That's why we started college hockey gameday, just like college football gameday. Fans love it, that really know hockey.
Q: Having the podcast for a while, you've obviously spoken with a lot of different players. Is there a guest that sticks out to you?
A: I would say that Matt Boldy was my favorite podcast, there’s no doubt about that. Just the nicest kid, most genuine kid I've ever met. Olivia Knowles as well, women's player from Minnesota. She was one of the big podcast guests we've had on, [aside from Cale Makar and Jeremy Swayman,] now plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps. That was a cool connection. [Devon] Levi was great, really appreciated him. Matt Brown at BU, there's just so many really good kids. [Jimmy Dowd, Josh Doan…] Those are some of my favorite people I've met through the podcast.
Q: So how does the team determine which players you want to have on? Do you approach it from who's doing exceptionally well or who has an entertaining story to share?
A: I never ask if it's a good story, I kind of already know what the story is. We have a big team, I have guys in a group message sending me like, 'Yo, read this tweet about this player, like maybe we should have on the podcast.' Or fans will send in stories of these players, or just asking to have them on. They're in school too — player availability and when they can make it work. But obviously if it's a huge story and we're pushing to get 'em on, we'll get 'em on.
Q: Is there a particular media trip that was your favorite?
A: Michigan was unbelievable. Hanging out with the players, that was pretty cool. Being in the same room as Owen Power, Kent Johnson, Nick Blankenburg — they're all in the NHL now. That's the biggest thing: we have relationships with these players. Most media sources don't really — not as close as we have it. We're in the house playing video games with the guys, like it's close. That's my favorite part of doing this job is the relationships I get to build with these players, these coaches, these schools. Growing up as a Minnesota Wild fan, I never thought I'd be friends with the guy that's now the second best player on the Wild. It's pretty crazy to me [that I'm connected with some of the upcoming stars on both the Wild and in the NHL].