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Former “SportsCenter” anchor Michele Steele has found a new sports media home.
Steele, who left ESPN after 14 years last summer, signed on to become a contributor at the Big Ten Network.
Front Office Sports reporter Michael McCarthy revealed the news Thursday, March 26, after a phone interview with Steele, a University of Illinois graduate. Steele, 47, will make her BTN debut March 28 by reporting from the Nebraska Cornhuskers spring football game.
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“There is something really special for me about getting to cover a conference that you literally grew up with and graduated from–while staying here in Chicago which is my hometown. So it’s great. This checks a lot of boxes for me,” Steele told FOS.
Steele announced her departure from ESPN in a social media post on July 17. She appeared as an anchor on “SportsCenter,” “NFL Live” and “Outside the Lines” and reported from ESPN’s Boston and Chicago bureaus.
Steele said she will be a contributor across BTN’s game and studio programming.
Steele reposted an X post from McCarthy with a message: “Looking forward to joining the very talented team @BigTenNetwork and covering the conference I grew up watching… .”
Because the Big Ten Network is owned primarily by Fox, Steele is a direct competitor to her former employer. ESPN owns majority stakes in the SEC Network and ACC Network.
The Big Ten Network will air the Nebraska spring game from noon to 2 p.m. ET March 28.
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Steele, who left ESPN after 14 years last summer, signed on to become a contributor at the Big Ten Network.
Front Office Sports reporter Michael McCarthy revealed the news Thursday, March 26, after a phone interview with Steele, a University of Illinois graduate. Steele, 47, will make her BTN debut March 28 by reporting from the Nebraska Cornhuskers spring football game.
MORE: Yankees pitcher sounds off on fans’ ‘brutal’ TV nightmare: ‘sounds terrible’
“There is something really special for me about getting to cover a conference that you literally grew up with and graduated from–while staying here in Chicago which is my hometown. So it’s great. This checks a lot of boxes for me,” Steele told FOS.
Steele announced her departure from ESPN in a social media post on July 17. She appeared as an anchor on “SportsCenter,” “NFL Live” and “Outside the Lines” and reported from ESPN’s Boston and Chicago bureaus.
Steele said she will be a contributor across BTN’s game and studio programming.
Steele reposted an X post from McCarthy with a message: “Looking forward to joining the very talented team @BigTenNetwork and covering the conference I grew up watching… .”
Because the Big Ten Network is owned primarily by Fox, Steele is a direct competitor to her former employer. ESPN owns majority stakes in the SEC Network and ACC Network.
The Big Ten Network will air the Nebraska spring game from noon to 2 p.m. ET March 28.
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MARCH MADNESS: 2026 Sweet 16 TV schedule, game times & dates for NCAA Tournament
MLB: Predicting the winner of every MLB game on Friday, March 27, 2026
NFL: NFL pushes back Tom Brady’s sensational return to football
SPORTS MEDIA: Sweet 16 announcer pairings & TV schedule for 2026 NCAA Tournament
ENTERTAINMENT: 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards winners, Taylor Swift leads full list
VIRAL: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce tower over 5-foot-3 Olympic champ Alysa Liu
Continue reading...
