Photo Courtesy of Justin Allegri
San José State alumni and sports broadcasters Justin Allegri (left) and James Jones (right) pose for a photo during a Spartan football game.
Before calling touchdowns at Levi’s Stadium, a San José State alumnus began calling games while pursuing an undergraduate degree.
Justin Allegri began pursuing a minor in broadcast journalism and received his bachelor’s in radio, TV, and film.
“I wasn’t good enough to play sports at the Division I college level, so I wanted to stay in sports, but didn’t know what that meant,” Allegri said. “ I took a journalism class in community college and really enjoyed it, and then pursued that into some opportunities when I went to San José State to get on the air.”
He has been the radio broadcaster for the San José Giants since 2015, according to Allegri’s website.
Allegri is stepping into the 49ers radio booth to fill in for primary play-by-play broadcaster Greg Papa, according to an Aug. 1, KTVU article.
Robert Rucker, retired SJSU journalism professor, sent an email to the Spartan Daily what it was like working with him.
“Allegri is absolutely the real deal and good man,” Rucker wrote. “He’s ‘The Find’ all industries crave who’s destined to build an impressive and most respected career.”
While attending SJSU, he worked as a broadcast producer and oversaw the livestream and TV production of other sports at the university.
“His dedication to creative news writing, video editing and poignant storytelling are inspirational,” Rucker said.
Allegri is one out of five members of the 49ers broadcast team for the 2025-26 season, joining him is radio color analyst Tim Ryan.
Amy Villa, SJSU Director of Athletics Media Relations, emphasized his abilities as a broadcaster.
“When I met him as a broadcaster, he was very driven, and he knew what he wanted to do,” Villa said.
His voice was the host of a recap radio highlight segment, called MLB The Show, according to Allegri’s website
Allegri has been the voice of the Golden Bears football and men’s basketball team since 2023 according to the same website
“For a football game week, generally, when a college football team does a game week, there’s certain elements of the week that are consistent, so there are press conferences and open practices and things like that,” Allegri said.
This wasn’t unheard of, Villa said that he took his preparation seriously and was always ready for the games he covered.
“His attention to details, his thoroughness, and willingness to help others succeed made him the ‘go to guy’ for advice, a natural true leader,” Rucker said.
The Southeastern Conference is a leader on the national landscape of intercollegiate athletics in the 21st century, according to the conference’s website.
Allegri shared one of his most memorable moments as a broadcaster that he has had on and off the field.
“In general, we had a couple of big wins. One that’s very memorable is going into Arkansas and beating a Sec team on the road,” Allegri said.
Fans can listen to him call games for the SJSU Football team on Spartan Radio Network which is led by KLIV 1590 AM according to SJSUSpartans.com
He mentioned that one of his best memories was covering the hockey team when they went to the National Championship.
“When he was here, he did a really good job.” Villa said.