Zach Berman, former sports editor for The Daily Orange

Matt spent two semesters as the sports editor for The Daily Orange, directing a staff of around 20 writers while also covering football and men's basketball. As an assistant sports editor, his ability to embrace and include online media was influential within the newspaper.

One reporting moment sticks out. We were covering a men’s basketball game at Providence College, near the home of Syracuse star Demetris Nichols. Road games are particularly difficult to cover because the visiting team leaves the locker room quickly after the game to board the team bus and head home. Nichols had a great game -- hitting the go-ahead shot, if my memory serves correct. He was in demand among the reporters, even the local reporters who wanted the Nichols homecoming angle. Access to Nichols was limited, and the reporters could only get so much from him. Matt found an original angle. He spotted Nichols' mother and interviewed her as well, significantly enhancing his story and column. Most other college reporters either wouldn’t know who the woman was or wouldn’t think to bring her insight into the story.

Andy McCullough, enterprise editor for The Daily Orange

Matt lives and breathes for reporting. He is someone who freaks out when rumors come across message boards and tries to follow up on them immediately. Matt is someone who cares about breaking news more than life itself.

For the past year, he has been the editor of the Daily Orange’s sports section, one of the top college sports sections in the nation. As his professor for two journalism courses, I can see why Gelb was chosen for such a coveted position. He’s a talented and prolific journalist. He has a knack for getting to the heart of the matter, whether he’s writing a news story or offering an opinion during class discussions. His intelligence and quietly self-assured manner earned him the admiration and respect of his classmates and no doubt inspired trust in his staff of 40.

Ethan Ramsey, former sports editor for The Daily Orange

I think Matt gets his biggest kicks out of the news aspect of it all. He loved beating the local Syracuse paper, The Post-Standard, on multiple occasions. He was the only reporter to get an on-the-record source to respond to an online report that Syracuse freshman Donte Greene was turning pro last month. He got an assistant coach, Rob Murphy, on the phone in which Murphy denied the report. Thus, the Daily Orange subsequently directed all the online chatter that night. His work on the beat for two years allowed him to develop that relationship, and he was the first to get a response to the rumor.

John Clayton, staff writer for The Daily Orange

Matt Gelb is an extremely talented sports writer and runs one of the best student-run sports sections in the country. He is an excellent editor and is good at managing his staff and helping them improve their writing skills. As a reporter, Matt isn't afraid to ask the tough questions, and his reporting ability makes his writing colorful as well as accurate.

The cost of losing | Athletics has survived football's decline so far. Can that continue?

Source | The Daily Orange
Syracuse University's athletic department has nearly offset a decline in football earnings the last two years with an increase in fund raising, according to university documents and a series of interviews with top officials at the school.

Greene still undecided on immediate future

Source | The Daily Orange
It was the second question posed to Donte Greene by the group of media around his corner locker.
"Are you going to the NBA?" a reporter asked.
"I don't know yet."

Practice is adventure without depth

Source | The Daily Orange
The players were laughing, and Lazarus Sims was trying to stop it, to no avail.
"Come on, we're serious," said Sims, the current coordinator of player development and Syracuse guard from 1992-96.

UVA star Singletary shoots only 3-for-14

Source | The Daily Orange
All Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris wanted to see was the stat sheet. When a reporter walked into the Syracuse locker room with one in hand, they ran for a look.