These Sideline Reporters Are Actually at the Center of the Game

No matter how you look at it, Alanna Rizzo was destined to broadcast. In 2003, Rizzo graduated from the University of Colorado with a master's degree in broadcast journalism. She started as an anchor for CBS and was brought on full-time at "Root Sports Rocky Mountian" - for which she won three regional Emmy Awards.

Thanks to her extensive knowledge of numerous sports, Rizzo often gets asked to report on significant games. The reporter is so dedicated to her job - she didn't see the incoming bucket of Gatordate that got her soaked!

Some of the best sideline reporters started their journey as athletes themselves! Alex Curry played soccer throughout her youth and through college. Living in Southern California for the majority of her life, Curry is always searching for ways to give back to her community.

She often volunteers at GrowingGreat, a charity that encourages healthy eating. These days, Alex is a reporter and TV host for Fox Sports. Throughout her career, she's covered every kind of sports one could think of!

As we've watched her on the sidelines and followed her avidly on social media - we've learned a thing or two from Allie. She is a LaForce to be reckoned with! Growing up in a family of athletes, it would only make sense that she would play basketball for her university team.

While studying at Ohio State, she played basketball, where obviously, she majored in broadcast journalism. In 2011, Allie won an Emmy award for anchoring FOX 8’s "Friday Night Touchdown" high school football show.

While attending UCLA, Cari Champion landed herself an internship with CNN. After her graduation, she was asked to join the Tennis Network to follow the Williams sister's tennis careers.

One of Cari's main goals is to change negative stereotypes: “I wanted to give people a voice that didn’t have a voice. I’m always fighting for the underdog. I’m not sure where I got it from, but I’ve been like that all my life. That’s why I love journalism.”

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Carrisa Thomspon always knew she wanted to be a broadcaster. That being said, she graduated from UCLA with a degree in law and society. That didn't keep her from living out her dear, Thompson has been the host of many sports programs including the NFL on Fox Sports.

For three consecutive years, she was a co-host on the entertainment news show "Extra." Thompson is also known as one of the hosts of "Ultimate Beastmaster," a sports entertainment reality show competition.

A sports reporting hall of famer, Erin Andrews, is also known for her sportscasting and as a television personality. She is most well known for her roles on ESPN "College Gameday" and "Good Morning America" and is a regular host on "Dancing with the Stars."

In an interview, Erin said that she always thought of herself as a tomboy growing up. Whether it was watching NBA games with her father or playing basketball, Erin's life revolved around sports.

Fox Sports host, Jimena Sanchez, may be one of the most recognized Mexican women on American television. She boasts many followers on her social media accounts - not thanks to her beauty but for her talent on camera.

Residing in Latin America, Sanchez is currently the host of "Lo Mejor De Fox Sports" on Fox Sports 2. A fan of American sports, Sanchez has a handful of favorite teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Las Vegas Raiders, and New York Yankees!

After graduating from Texas A&M University, Kayce Smith worked in College Station after graduation, where she took on multiple roles. The Texas native joined Fox Sports until her career-defining moment when ESPN approached her.

Smith has a passion for sports talk radio, which isn't surprising considering she has an extensive background in it. She is currently located in New York, where she is a personality at Sirius XM and Barstool Sports.

ABC News reporter Kaylee Hartung was previously a reporter for CNN as well as for ESPN, where she contributed to the SEC Network. Before her career on-screen, Kaylee attended Washington and Lee University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and politics, graduating in 2007.

Hartung was also a reporter on the daily "Washington Unplugged" program and worked as a featured correspondent for "Unplugged Under 40." In mid-2019, ABC announced that the young woman was joining the Disney family as a correspondent based out of NYC.

Kelsey Wingert grew up in Sugar Land, Texas. She attended and graduated from Louisiana State University in 2014, where she was on the volleyball team. She attended LSU because of the TV broadcast program.

Former Fox Sports South journalist Kelsey Wingert has done it all - from covering the Atlanta Braves to almost every other team the network covers. During the offseason, she does studio cut-ins for NHL and NBA games and does sideline reporting for Atlantic Coast Conference football games.

Kristine Leahy rose to fame back in 2010, when she hosted the action game show "American Ninja Warrior." After earning her degree from Boston University and working as an anchor for various news stations, she was finally hired by the NBC network.

In 2012, Leahy moved to Los Angeles and worked as a sideline reporter for Turner Sports’ "March Madness" coverage. She is also the former newswoman and co-host of Fox Sports 1’s simulcast of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd."

Born in St. Petersburg, Florida, Laura Rutledge was 2012's Miss Florida; her competition talent was ballet. Laura is a University of Florida graduate, as you may have already guessed - she majored in broadcast journalism.

Rutledge is known for her contributions to ESPN, where she is featured in multiple shows and is a host for CNN International. She has even started an original show at Fox Sports San Diego, "SDLive," which she produces and hosts!

Maria Taylor grew up in Georgia - where she attended Centennial High School, earning recognition for volleyball all through high school and her college careers. She was awarded a member of the Atlanta Tip-Off Team of the Year and was named MVP of her high school volleyball team.

These days, she focuses her energy on college football and has made herself a name for herself at ESPN as a host and analyst. In 2019, Maria began hosting "NBA Countdown."

Yet another reporter who began her journey in sports playing volleyball, we have Meredith Markovits. Growing up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she earned a volleyball scholarship to play at La Salle University. Markobits is known for her presence online at YESNetwork.com and for reporting on the Yankees as the YES network host.

Markotvits began her career as a host and reporter for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the television network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Staying true to her Pennsylvania roots, Meredith worked as a sideline reporter for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and broadcast journalism, Molly McGarth is a proud Boston College Class of 2011 graduate. Following her graduation, Molly worked as a production assistant at ESPN, where she produced highlights, logged play-by-plays, as well as other various tasks on the network.

She has hosted several sportscasts on FOX, and in 2016, she even hosted a revival of the robot-fighting show "Battlebots" on ABC. She currently covers college football on ESPN.

After marrying the professional basketball player, Sam Dekker, Olivia Harlan is known these days as Olivia Dekker. Though she is married to a basketball star, she covers all things football. Olivia and her father, Kevin, made history as the first father-daughter team to call an NFL game when the Green Bay Packers played the San Francisco 49ers.

Apart from her work, on-screen Olivia is known for being an active philanthropist. For her wedding, instead of gifts, she asked her guests to donate to the Children's Center Family Foundation, raising over $65 thousand!

As you may have already guessed by her name, Diletta Leotta is not an American broadcaster. The Italian television presenter is actually from Catania, Sicily. Leotta studied law at the Luiss Universit in Rome, graduating in 2015.

She started by hosting "Serie B" games on Sky Sport in Italy, and in 2018 she worked side by side with Aída Yéspica as the host of 105 Take Away. She has been presenting the "Serie A" broadcasts for DAZN since the 2018-2019 season.

If you look at Rebecca Haarlow, you won't be disappointed. She's had an extensive career, she's reported for MSG Network, NBA on TNT, Fox Sports Net, The NFL Network, NBA TV, and the Big Ten Network. Impressive, right?

Growing up in Chicago, she was a track star, earning herself six state medals. If that wasn't enough, she is also a Princeton University graduate, scoring 4,700 in the 1999 Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Championships - which is the second-highest mark in Princeton history!

After graduating from King's College, Samantha Ponder started her career as a sideline reporter for smaller college basketball and football games. She earned her big break when she was asked to host the College Gameday segment on ESPN.

Ponder was named host of Sunday NFL countdown - being the third person to land this position in the 32-year history of ESPN's Sunday morning pregame show. She is presently the host "Sunday NFL Countdown" on ESPN.

Sara Carbonero is a Spanish sports journalist, starting her profession when she was in the third year of her journalism bachelor. While studying at the Complutense University of Madrid, she began as an intern at Radio Marca and was hired a short six months later.

In 2009, she signed a contract with Telecinco as an editor and sports presenter. One of the more notable events she covered was the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the unexpected Swiss victory over the Spaniards.

Brittany McHenry is a former ESPN personality and is currently a commentator for Fox Nation, Fox News' streaming service that runs 24/7. McHenry was brown in Mout Holly Township, New Jersey, and grew up in Satellite Beach, Florida.

She was a four-year varsity starter for the women's soccer team at Satellite High School. After graduating with honors in 2007 from Stetson, Brittany went on to Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Michelle Beisner had an eight-year tenure as a host of NFL Weekly Countdown at the NFL Network and wired as a sideline reporter for "NFL Total Access" and "NFL GameDay Morning." These days, she is a feature reporter for ESPN and is a member of the "Monday Night Countdown" crew.

Not only she is a talented reporter, but Michelle has made a name for herself on-screen as an actress as well. She has acted in the films, "Throttle," "Any Given Sunday," and "Alice in Wasteland."

Kacie McDonnell was born and raised in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Staying in her home state for college, she attended Villanova University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in communications. The Fox News talent appears mostly on the AFox Nation Subscription Channel as a sports and lifestyle host.

Her first big gig was hosting the red caper at the Patriot Awards in 2019. Before making herself a name at Fox News, Kacie worked for WTXF-TV, providing reports on the Philadelphia Eagles.

After years of working in the states, Hawksworth returned to her native Canada to continue her journey as a sports anchor/reporter for Rogers Sportsnet in Toronto. Erin triggered her career as an intern for the National Broadcasting Company - covering the 2004 Summer Olympics.

She has also served as a sports anchor for CNN. Hawksworth has made her way onto many networks, including working for KCPQ, the Fox affiliate in Seattle, where she worked as both a sports reporter and a morning news anchor.

As a reporter for the 17-Time World Champion Boston Celtics, Amanda Pflugrad conducts pre and post-game interviews with both players and coaches. In addition to this, a part of the job is delivering live game recaps and analysis and providing daily updates from the team's practice.

Her duties also include hosting the Celtics live pre-game show during every single home game. Before this full-time gig, Amanda was a sideline reporter for ESPN, covering women's gymnastics.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Dell attended UMass Amherst and surprisingly earned her degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. In 2012, Jennifer began dating Will Middlebrooks, who was the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox at the time.

Dell previously worked for New England Sports Network, covering the Red Sox. Currently, Jennifer Dell is an NFL reporter for CBS Sports. Dell and Middlebrooks became engaged in 2014 and married in 2016; the couple has two daughters together!

Colorado native, Lauren Gardner, served as a sideline reporter and host for almost everyone. From CBS Sports Network to the Smithsonian Channel, shes covered everything; NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, college football, and college basketball. You name it. She's done it.

More recently, Lauren joined the DAZN team as a host of the MLB show, Change-Up. She is also a part of both NHL and MLB networks, where she works on various programs.

Sage Steele may be one of the best female reporters in the field - there’s no doubt about it. She attended Thomas B. Doherty High School in Colorado Springs when she transferred as a senior to Carmel, Indiana, and attended Carmel High School, graduating in 1990.

Steele attended Indiana University Bloomington and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Communication, graduating in 1995. Twenty years later, she gave the commencement speech at the 2015 graduation, a role she considers the highest honor of her career.

Jenn grew up with love for sports; she played and captained several games in High School. She went on to follow that passion as a collegiate athlete for the University of Florida. She continued her love for sports when signed on with ESPN, where she worked as a reporter and host for eight years.

Before ESPN, the talent worked for Showtime Sports as a correspondent for two consecutive years. Brown was a special correspondent on "Inside the NFL" for two seasons, which received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show in 2008.

Hale started her career in journalism in Monroe, Louisiana, at KNOW-TV, which landed her a place in Baton Rouge as their capitol correspondent in Louisiana. Between her weekend anchor job and being a reporter, she found time to write a book called "Historic Plantations of Alabama’s Black Belt."

These days, she works as an NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports, as well as college football for the channel.

Akra is currently hosting shows like a sports reporter and anchor, but where did it all begin? The gorgeous and famous journalist was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After Kristina attending the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, she graduated with a news broadcasting degree in 2006.

She is most known for making appearances on various CNN shows, including "Weekend Express with Lynn Smith" and "New Day." One of her more prominent roles has been covering the Atlanta Braves on FoxSports South with in-game reports.

Niki, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, was destined to talk for a living at an early age. Seeing as though she was an only child, she would mostly talk to herself. She started her career in Broadcast Journalism way back in high school when she joined the class as a sophomore.

It was in those years when she realized exactly what she wanted to do. She's worked with various sports events around the country, representing ESPN, Fox Sports, NCAA, and much more.

Next on our list, we have the third runner up in the 2010 Miss Florida USA pageant, Kristen Ledlow. Since leaving her pageant days behind, she's become the host of "NBA Inside Stuff" on NBA TV. She attended Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, majoring in broadcasting and communications.

After graduation, she became an anchor at WTXL-TV, hosting the "Good News Show" while writing for the "Tallahassee Quarterback Club." She also worked on the radio channel for ESPN Tallahassee, helping her make her way onto becoming a sideline reporter for Florida State Seminoles football games.

Born and raised in Bloomington, Minnesota, Jamie Erdahl went on to graduate from the Breck School in 2007. She is currently a reporter for CBS Sports, where she's the number one sideline reporter for "The SEC" on CBS, teaming up with Gary Danielson and Brad Nessler.

Erdahl also covers the NCAA basketball during its season and "March Madness" for CBS. Since joining the company in 2014, she's been contributing to CBS Sports Network as a studio host.

Heidi Watney a sideline reporter and host for the Major League Baseball Network. She attended Clovis West High School in Fresno, where she was an all-around athlete, she participated in hurdles, diving, cheerleading, and gymnastics.

She earned a scholarship to San Diego State, where she graduated with honors. Heidi's gained experience sportscasting in roles at the Time Warner Cable SportsNet in Los Angeles and New England Sports Network in Boston.

Kathryn Tappen calls Morristown, New Jersey, her hometown. Tappen didn't let the fact that there weren't any girls teams at her school stop her from playing sports; instead, she joined the boy's baseball and basketball teams!

In high school, she focused on track, and as a result, she earned both academic and athletic scholarships to attend Rutgers University. She eventually majored in journalism and was a member of the cross-country and track team at Rutgers until she graduated.

The half Armenian, half Italian gorgeous and brainy Qerim, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications and a minor in business administration from the University of Connecticut. She went on to receive a master's degree from Quinnipiac University in broadcast journalism.

Molly has a long, impressive resume that includes anchoring and reporting for CBS Sports Network, where she covered college football, the NCAA Tournament the U.S Open, and National Singing Day. She's had numerous roles on ESPN, including "UFC" and "College Football Live."

Native New Yorker and die-hard New York Giants fan, Jamie Maggio, is our kind of woman. She hosted a local sports show in Los Angeles before joining Turner Sports, and in 2011, she began covering from the sidelines at the NBA and MLB playoffs.

Her breakout game occurred during her coverage of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. These days, she has the critical position of handing sideline duties for Los Angeles Clippers games on Fox Sports West.

Melanie Collins is another example of a Broadcast Journalism graduate who has worked endlessly to achieve her goal as a reporter at the top of her profession. Currently, Collins hosts the "Big Break" and is working as an NFL sideline reporter for CBS Sports.

For a long time, Melanie was the face of Yahoo! Sports - where she reported from all major sporting events all around the world. Melanie also served as the host of the weekly show "Fantasy Football Live."

Gevrina Catalina is a bilingual sportscaster and television personality fluent in Spanish and English. Catalina is the first-ever sportscaster for Los Angeles Football Club, who is simultaneously the bilingual digital reporter for the Los Angeles Rams.

She is an accurate representation of the diversity of Sports in Los Angeles. She graduated from the prep sports school, Mater Dei. In addition to Spanish and English, she speaks fluent French - it seems like no matter where she is in the world, Catalina will always have a job!

Four-time Emmy nominated sports broadcaster, Tracy Wolfson is a force to be reckoned with. She made the bold move from ESPN to CBS Sports in 2004, and she's been on the sidelines at some of the most significant games in the world ever since.

She was a sideline reporter for the inaugural "Thursday Night Football" package, and before that, she leads sideline reporter for the SEC on CBS Football.

Former ESPN personality Brittany May McHenry works as a commentator on Fox Nation, Fox News’ 24/7 streaming service. After graduating from the Medill School of Journalism, Brittany began her career working as a reporter and fill-in anchor for ABC Television's Washington affiliate.

McHenry spent two weeks at Fox Sports San Diego working as a sideline reporter on the San Diego Padres telecasts - before eventually returning to ABC 7.

Model, television personality, and former online columnist for Sports Illustrated, it seems as though Jenn Sterger has fone it all. She was a co-host of the Versus sports news show, "The Daily Line," and worked as the Gameday Host for the New York Jets.

Currently, she works for All Elite Wrestling as a backstage interviewer. Though she's been out of the spotlight in recent years, she is one of the most notable women in sports media in the past 20 years!

Golf fans who tune into TNT and CBS Sports broadcasts, all know who Amanda Balionis is, she's become somewhat of a household name. Balionis started her media career at Hofstra University, where she majored (like many on this list) in broadcast journalism.

While still studying, she worked at the student newspaper. Climbing her way to the top, she interned for several stations and started her professional career at a paper in Lancaster. She began as a reporter for the PGA tour, eventually making her way to CBS Sports in 2017!

With a degree in broadcast journalism in hand, Jill Arrington graduated from the University of Miami. Shortly after graduation, she began her broadcasting career as a producer of the entertainment show called "Main Floor," a job she held for five years!

She also spent a year producing for Paramount's "Real TV." Jill married Dean Panaro, a four-time NCAA Champion diver. They have one daughter together, Presley Kate Panaro, who was born in 2004.

Most will recognize Shannon Spake for her contribution to Fox Sports, where she is in charge of all anchor duties for the"NASCAR Cup Series" - as well as "NASCAR Series" races and pre-race shows. Spake was also a college basketball and football reporter for Fox Sports.

In the past, she worked for ESPN, where she worked on SportsCenter and contributed as a sideline reporter for SEC on ESPN basketball. In 2017, Shannon got the unique experience of voicing Shanon Spokes in Pixar's "Cars 3!"

Melissa Stark is a television personality and sportscaster, you may recognize her from her three-year term as a sideline reporter for "Monday Night Football." Melissa began her career as a news intern working on the assignment desk at WMAR-TV in Baltimore way back in 1991.

She moved up and became a news intern for "CBS Evening News," where she wrote scripts and put together background information on investigative pieces for the network's health correspondent, Dr. Bob Arnot. Currently, she works as a reporter for the NFL Network.

Holly Rowe has made a name for herself and is one of the most well-known sports journalists today. She has been working for ESPN since 1998 and has the unique ability to move gracefully between sports and roles, integrating her work as a play-by-play broadcaster.

Rowe is one tough cookie, in 2016, she covered both the men's and women's NCAA tournaments, just one-month after cancer surgery. Under how blouse, she had plastic tubes stitched into her incision to drain fluid. That's an MVP right there!