OXFORD — The moment started to become surreal.
Sitting courtside during halftime of the Miami University women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament first round matchup against West Virginia, Kethan Babu paused when asked what the experience felt like.
He measured the question and factored in the possibility that it would likely be the last event he would cover as a Miami student sports journalist.
“It hasn’t quite hit me yet,” Babu said, who sported a “Most Bylines Ever” jersey given to him from one of his best friends and colleagues, Elisa Rosenthal.
“But as soon as the final buzzer goes off, I already know what it’s going to feel like.”
There was another brief pause.
“It’s like the end of an era.”
For more than three years, Babu had immersed himself in the daily rhythm of RedHawks athletics — football Saturdays, midweek Mid-American Conference matchups, late-night deadlines and early-morning follow-ups.
You can’t forget classes, either.
“I’ve been covering football and both basketball teams heavily for three years,” Babu said as a blaring crowd resonated inside West Virginia’s Hope Coliseum.
“To cover my last game — it’s a weird feeling.”
That feeling is layered with part professional detachment and part personal reflection.
“It’s weird to think about this being the last time I’ll talk to these players,” Babu added.
Over time, the lines between observer and participant can blur — even for someone trained to keep distance and retain an unbiased nature.
“I try not to take it that way,” Babu said. “I try to think of it as if I have a job that’s not with the team or anything.”
Then he smiled.
“But there is a truth to being a student reporter and a fan.”
Babu has watched Miami’s programs evolve from sparsely attended games to packed arenas and national attention.
“I’ve gone to games where there were maybe 100 people inside Millett Hall,” Babu explained. “And now I’ve been to games where 10,000 people are in attendance.”
That growth created a unique dynamic.
“My success kind of goes off their success,” Babu said. “I wouldn’t be able to sit courtside at an NCAA Tournament if they didn’t earn it.”
He paused again.
“So it’s symbiotic.”
An unplanned path
Journalism was never supposed to be the plan.
Babu — a Detroit native — arrived in Oxford as a finance-focused student, drawn more by academics than storytelling.
“I chose Miami kind of on a whim,” Babu admitted.
That decision, he elaborated, came down to a last-minute choice — even joking that it came down to flipping a coin between Miami and Michigan State.
“I wanted a good business school and to be a little further away from home,” Babu said.
Everything else came together just as quickly — and just as unexpectedly.
On the drive to campus with his mother, Babu made a spontaneous decision.
“We stopped at a Wendy’s,” he recalled. “And I was like, ‘I might as well email them.’”
That email went to then-sports editor Jack Schmelzinger.
And within weeks, Babu joined The Miami Student and enrolled in a journalism course — initially as a way to fill time.
“I was just looking for something to do,” Babu said. “I liked watching football.”
The early steps were modest. A few stories. A growing interest. A curiosity about the craft.
Then came consistency — and volume.
By the time Babu reached his senior year, he had surpassed 200 bylines and is currently approaching 250 total — one of the highest recorded in the publication’s recent history.
But within the newsroom, those numbers carry historical weight.
“I had 192 bylines with TMS,” Schmelzinger said. “Chris Vinel had 223, and Emily Simanskis had 233, which I always thought was untouchable. But Kethan flew past it.”
For Babu, those numbers once felt distant.
“I remember when Jack graduated, he had 192 stories,” Babu said. “At the time, I had maybe 40, and I was like, ‘How did he even do that?’”
The number once seemed unreachable.
“Once I hit 192, I was like — I’m surprised I didn’t do it sooner,” Babu said.
The workload, he learned, wasn’t about shortcuts.
“It wasn’t hard,” Babu said. “It just took consistency.”
That consistency showed up in moments that never made print.
“With about a week’s notice, Kethan stepped into that spot and took off,” Schmelzinger said of Babu taking over when he left for an internship.
And off the page, too.
“Our ride fell through for the 2023 MAC Championship in Detroit,” Schmelzinger added. “Kethan immediately stepped up and drove us without complaint.
“Kethan is a great guy, super chill, and a loyal friend.”
Inside the newsroom rise
Babu’s ascent wasn’t just about volume — it was about timing, opportunity and trust.
According to Rosenthal, TMS’s current managing editor, the turning point came early.
“That 2023 MAC Championship trip — that was kind of his first real look into what this is really like,” Rosenthal said. “That was his gateway.”
By the following spring, Babu had taken over as sports editor — as a sophomore.
His rise coincided with a surge in both Miami athletics and newsroom demand.
“Sports became the forefront of coverage,” Rosenthal said. “With how well the teams were doing, it changed the culture in the room. Everyone had ideas. Everyone wanted to be involved.”
Rosenthal, who later became photo editor before moving into the managing editor role, worked closely alongside Babu during that stretch — traveling to games, helping run section meetings and assisting with coverage demands.
“I kind of became an honorary sports editor,” she said. “And that helped him because it became a bigger section. He had more to manage.”
The collaboration helped shape both of their growth.
“I owe him a lot of credit,” Rosenthal said. “It helped me develop my editing skills, and now I use those every day.”
As Miami’s basketball programs surged — including undefeated stretches, NCAA Tournament runs and front-page moments — Babu was at the center of it.
“He was at almost every game,” Rosenthal said. “During the school year, he was everywhere.”
And he set a standard that extended beyond production.
“The expectation isn’t to do what Kethan did — write everything, never sleep,” Rosenthal said of the next wave of editors. “But they’ve taken inspiration from him.”
That influence remains embedded in the newsroom culture.
“There’s a group chat with all the editors, and it’s called ‘RIP Kethan,’” Rosenthal said with a laugh. “Because he’s the reason they’re here. He’s the reason I’m here.”
More than bylines
For those closest to him, Babu’s impact goes beyond journalism.
“I cannot say enough nice things about him,” Rosenthal said.
Even during difficult stretches, she said, Babu’s priorities remained unchanged.
“He could be having the worst week of his life, and he’ll still put down three stories to make sure everything’s okay for print,” she said.
That approach — selfless, consistent, team-first — shaped the culture around him.
“He is incredibly selfless,” Rosenthal said. “He cares about others, sometimes more than himself.”
That mindset translated into both leadership and mentorship.
“All the kids under him learned that,” she said. “That if something needs to get done, you step up and do it.”
And beyond the newsroom, it built something deeper.
“If I ever need anything, he drops everything,” Rosenthal said. “He’ll always be there.”
Covering a transition
Being a part of press row at Miami University athletic events, Babu has become one of the most recognizable voices documenting the recent rise of the RedHawks.
As the sports editor of The Miami Student, Babu has spent the past four years chronicling a transformative era for Miami — one that has now included conference title runs, NCAA Tournament appearances, bowl games and the steady rebuilding of multiple programs.
And for Babu, the assignment has never just been about box scores.
His tenure coincided with one of the most compelling stretches in recent Miami athletics history.
He arrived during the early stages of men’s basketball coach Travis Steele’s campaign and remained through the program’s rise into a national storyline.
“All four years were his building up the program,” Babu said. “All four years I’ve watched it.”
He also covered the arrival of women’s basketball coach Glenn Box and the subsequent growth that led to an NCAA Tournament berth.
“I’ve been here longer than Glenn Box has been at Miami,” Babu said. “That’s weird to think about.”
Through it all, Babu balanced access with objectivity — a skill essential to student journalism.
“You try not to get attached,” he said. “But it’s impossible not to feel something when you’ve been around it this long.”
Recognition followed, including a regional Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Still, Babu measures success differently.
Not by awards.
Not even by bylines.
But by presence.
“There’s a connection,” Babu said. “Even if you try to keep journalistic distance.”
That connection is what makes the ending difficult. And meaningful.
And as the final buzzer approached in Morgantown, the realization lingered — not just of a game ending, but of a chapter closing.
For Babu, press row will always feel familiar.
Even after he leaves it behind.
