UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State alumnus who has crafted a stellar career as one of America’s top baseball journalists, and an ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor, have been scheduled for upcoming sessions of the Conversation Series sponsored by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
Tom Verducci, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and an analyst for MLB Network and Fox, will be featured at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Students and others may participate at https://psu.zoom.us/j762951382 via Zoom.
Nicole Briscoe, a “SportsCenter" anchor, will be featured at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7. Students and others may participate at https://psu.zoom.us/j/987047704 via Zoom. Briscoe’s session is cosponsored by the Penn State chapter of the Association for Women in Sports Media.
John Affleck, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center, will moderate the sessions and ask some initial questions, as he does during the Curley Center’s traditional on-campus Conversation Series events. And, like those sessions, there will be ample time for student questions.
Verducci, who earned his bachelor’s degree from the University in 1982, ranks as one of the most authoritative voices on baseball, with more than three decades of unique achievement across multiple platforms.
Verducci is the only dedicated baseball writer to be named National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association for three consecutive years (2014-16). He is a three-time Emmy Award winner, including one for Outstanding Studio Analyst — making him the only person ever to win the award who was not a former player or coach, and the only person ever to win for both reporting and analysis. In his broadcasting role with Fox, he is the only writer ever to call a World Series as a color analyst.
Verducci also is a two-time National Magazine Award finalist and the author of two New York Times best-sellers: “The Yankee Years” and “The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse.”
Briscoe became a "SportsCenter" anchor and studio show host in early 2015 after working in various roles in ESPN’s NASCAR coverage from 2008-2014. In addition to anchoring "SportsCenter," Briscoe also has contributed to "X Games" coverage as a host and reporter and filled in as host on several ESPN Radio programs. She also served as host for ABC’s telecast of the Indianapolis 500 in 2018.
Briscoe joined ESPN in 2008 as Nicole Manske, prior to her 2009 marriage to racing driver Ryan Briscoe, who at the time competed in the IndyCar Series and now drives in sports car racing. Before coming to ESPN, Briscoe worked for two years as co-host of a motorsports news program on the SPEED Channel. Previously, she was a sports reporter at WISH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Indianapolis, where she was first exposed to auto racing through covering the Indianapolis 500. She also covered the Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers, and college basketball in her first on-air sports position.