Cindy Brunson is a sports anchor and reporter, most known for ESPN's
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
. She is currently working as part of the
Pac-12 Networks
The Pac-12 Network (P12N; also sometimes referred to as Pac-12 Networks) is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Pac-12 Conference. The network's studio and production facilities are headquarter ...
broadcast team as a football and men's basketball sideline reporter and women's basketball play-by-play announcer.
Biography
Brunson graduated from
Curtis Senior High School
Curtis Senior High School is a public high school located in University Place, Washington. Curtis Senior High School is a part of the University Place School District and the only high school in the district.
The University Place school distric ...
in
University Place, Washington
University Place is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its population was 34,866 at the 2020 census.
Based on per capita income, University Place ranks 81st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
History
Universi ...
. She is an alumna of
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
, with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in broadcast communications.
Broadcasting career
Brunson joined ESPN as an ESPNEWS anchor in September 1999. She served as co-host alongside David Lloyd on the network's weekend morning SportsCenter programs. Prior to ESPN, Brunson served as a weekend sports and news anchor/reporter at
KATU
KATU (channel 2) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside La Grande–licensed Univision affiliate KUNP (channel 16). Both stations share studios on NE ...
in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, from July 1998 to August 1999. While in Portland, she covered the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
, the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
and
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
football, and men's and women's basketball programs.
Prior to KATU, Brunson served as a weather anchor and news reporter at
KHQ
KHQ-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Spokane, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship and namesake of the KHQ Television Group, a subsidiary of the locally based Cowles Company, which also owns ''The Spokes ...
-6 in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
.
Brunson was anchoring when
ESPNEWS
ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News", stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns ...
covered
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
rookie
Aníbal Sánchez
Aníbal Alejandro Sánchez Jr. (; born February 27, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Florida Marlins and has also played for the Detroit Tiger ...
's no-hitter, thrown September 6, 2006. She was also anchoring
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
when
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
slugger
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
hit his 755th and 756th career home runs, tying and surpassing
Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
for most all-time.
Brunson officially left ESPN on December 29, 2012 after co-anchoring her final ''SportsCenter'' broadcast alongside
Bram Weinstein
Bram N. Weinstein is an American sportscaster who is the play by play broadcaster for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously worked at ESPN from 2008 to 2015, most notably as a host for ''SportsCenter''.
...
. She co-anchored her first ''SportsCenter'' broadcast in February 2001 alongside her future husband, Steve Berthiaume.
Brunson joined the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
broadcast team in March 2013. She cohosted pre-game and post-game shows with Jody Jackson on Sunday games.
Personal life
Brunson is a native of
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
. She is married to current
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
play-by-play man and former
SNY and
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
anchor
Steve Berthiaume
Steve Berthiaume () is an American television sportscaster who serves as the play-by-play broadcast announcer for the Arizona Diamondbacks and is a former anchor on ESPN and a former sportscaster for SportsNet New York (SNY). He is married to ...
. She is also an avid
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
and
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
fan.
References
Cindy Brunson ESPN Bio
American television sports anchors
People from Tacoma, Washington
Washington State University alumni
Women sports announcers
Women's National Basketball Association announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
College football announcers
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Women's college basketball announcers in the United States
Arizona Diamondbacks announcers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
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