Sweeney spent the last two years at the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, a daily newspaper in Elyria, Ohio, where he was a sports copy editor and page designer. He also covered high school sports, including football, soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, and track and field. He earned a master's degree in journalism from Kent State University in 2011. In 2008 he graduated from the College of Wooster, where he covered sports at its student-run newspaper, the Wooster Voice, and he served as sports editor for two years and editor-in-chief during his senior year.