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FOX 17 sports director Jill Jelnick, who played softball at East Carolina, is returning to the field. Well, sort of.
After five years at WZTV-17 in Nashville, Jelnick is leaving the anchor desk to pursue more play-by-play and sideline broadcasting opportunities, as well as teaching classes at Belmont. Her final newscast will be on Aug. 7.
Jelnick became known for her hustle during her time at FOX 17, where she was the only person in the sports department going up against crews at local Channels 2, 4, and 5, with up to three people.
"It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time," Jelnick said. "I have the most exciting days, fun days, thrilling days where I look down and all of a sudden 12 hours have gone by. And then I have days where my body aches, where I hit the pillow as soon as I go home and I wake up the next day and I go, 'I don't know if I can do that all over again.' "
Jelnick's broadcasts focused primarily on local sports, where she said she found plenty of highs and lows.
Her workday included three weekday newscasts — 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. CT — along with her 30-minute Sunday night show "Name Game Changers With Jill Jelnick" and local live coverage.
"It's a roller coaster where we have these great highs like playoff games, Josef Newgarden winning an IndyCar race in his hometown that's so exciting, and then we have lows where I have to pick up a camera and go to training camp, and I am humbled very quickly and also reminded how I need to continue to work out," she said.
Jelnick, who previously worked in Chattanooga, Tennessee and San Antonio, won two Murrow storyteller awards and two regional Emmys (best sportscast and best feature story). She was a four-time National Sports Media Association Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year finalist.
She has spent time handling various play-by-play broadcasts, which ignited her plan for her next career step.
"I happened to stumble into a play-by-play opportunity several years ago," she said. "The Tennessee Lady Vols needed a play-by-play at the last minute. Someone told them I was a former softball player. I had done a little play-by-play when I was in San Antonio. When they called, I said yes, and as I started to study for that game, I realized how excited I was. It was almost a newfound passion, and it reinvigorated my love for sports broadcasting in a completely different way."
That was three years ago, and Jelnick has called the Lady Vols' softball home games on the SEC Network+ since then. She has also handled play-by-play for Tennessee Tech women's basketball games and a local high school playoff football game while also doing sideline reporting for high school football games.
"I want to be able to have the freedom and flexibility to go after bigger play-by-play opportunities, and by wrapping a bow on my local news chapter and saying goodbye to FOX 17 with my contract up, it's going to allow me the opportunity to do that with the football season coming up," Jelnick said.
In the meantime, Jelnick, who has a master's degree in teaching, will teach four sports broadcasting classes at Belmont. In fact, teaching was her first love.
"I wanted to be a teacher and a coach first, just like my parents," Jelnick said. "I played softball at ECU and then as I was going down the student teaching route, I was like, 'Man, I miss sports,' and my counselor said, 'You talk a lot, you should go into sports broadcasting,' and the rest is history."
Jelnick has agreed to stay on at FOX 17 for the first two weeks of the high school football season and handle the station's Friday night show "Football Frenzy Live" before she leaves.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Jill Jelnick is leaving as FOX 17 sports director after 5 years
Continue reading...
After five years at WZTV-17 in Nashville, Jelnick is leaving the anchor desk to pursue more play-by-play and sideline broadcasting opportunities, as well as teaching classes at Belmont. Her final newscast will be on Aug. 7.
Jelnick became known for her hustle during her time at FOX 17, where she was the only person in the sports department going up against crews at local Channels 2, 4, and 5, with up to three people.
"It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time," Jelnick said. "I have the most exciting days, fun days, thrilling days where I look down and all of a sudden 12 hours have gone by. And then I have days where my body aches, where I hit the pillow as soon as I go home and I wake up the next day and I go, 'I don't know if I can do that all over again.' "
Jelnick's broadcasts focused primarily on local sports, where she said she found plenty of highs and lows.
Her workday included three weekday newscasts — 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. CT — along with her 30-minute Sunday night show "Name Game Changers With Jill Jelnick" and local live coverage.
"It's a roller coaster where we have these great highs like playoff games, Josef Newgarden winning an IndyCar race in his hometown that's so exciting, and then we have lows where I have to pick up a camera and go to training camp, and I am humbled very quickly and also reminded how I need to continue to work out," she said.
Jelnick, who previously worked in Chattanooga, Tennessee and San Antonio, won two Murrow storyteller awards and two regional Emmys (best sportscast and best feature story). She was a four-time National Sports Media Association Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year finalist.
She has spent time handling various play-by-play broadcasts, which ignited her plan for her next career step.
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"I happened to stumble into a play-by-play opportunity several years ago," she said. "The Tennessee Lady Vols needed a play-by-play at the last minute. Someone told them I was a former softball player. I had done a little play-by-play when I was in San Antonio. When they called, I said yes, and as I started to study for that game, I realized how excited I was. It was almost a newfound passion, and it reinvigorated my love for sports broadcasting in a completely different way."
That was three years ago, and Jelnick has called the Lady Vols' softball home games on the SEC Network+ since then. She has also handled play-by-play for Tennessee Tech women's basketball games and a local high school playoff football game while also doing sideline reporting for high school football games.
"I want to be able to have the freedom and flexibility to go after bigger play-by-play opportunities, and by wrapping a bow on my local news chapter and saying goodbye to FOX 17 with my contract up, it's going to allow me the opportunity to do that with the football season coming up," Jelnick said.
In the meantime, Jelnick, who has a master's degree in teaching, will teach four sports broadcasting classes at Belmont. In fact, teaching was her first love.
"I wanted to be a teacher and a coach first, just like my parents," Jelnick said. "I played softball at ECU and then as I was going down the student teaching route, I was like, 'Man, I miss sports,' and my counselor said, 'You talk a lot, you should go into sports broadcasting,' and the rest is history."
Jelnick has agreed to stay on at FOX 17 for the first two weeks of the high school football season and handle the station's Friday night show "Football Frenzy Live" before she leaves.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Jill Jelnick is leaving as FOX 17 sports director after 5 years
Continue reading...
