Karie Dombrowski ( Ross) is an American former sports broadcaster. She worked as both a sports anchor and reporter for ABC, NBC and CBS network affiliates and as a cable television broadcast reporter. Ross was ESPN's third female on-air personality, and she was the first female reporter on ESPN’s '' College Football GameDay''.

Early life

Ross was born in Norman, Oklahoma, raised in Clinton, Oklahoma by her parents Lanny and Janet Ross. Ross attended Clinton High School where she served as the school newspaper's sports editor. She was a supporter of Oklahoma Sooners sports in many ways: a baseball

batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

, a wrestling mat maid, and a football and basketball pompon squad member. Ross went on to study at the University of Oklahoma. She interned at KOKH-TV during her senior year at Oklahoma. She began her broadcasting journalism career at

KOCO-TV KOCO-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. Its studios and transmitter are located on East Britton Road (Historic Route 66)—between North Kelley a ...

in Oklahoma City.

Broadcast career

In 1981, Ross earned the title Maid of Cotton. The role had her serving as America's global ambassador to the cotton industry and promoting cotton use while traveling abroad. Ross spent 18 months at KOCO-TV; four years at

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

's WBNS-TV; two years in Bristol, Connecticut for ESPN; and nine months at Sports News Network in Washington, D.C. After a 9-month hiatus, she landed at KLAS-TV, becoming Las Vegas's first female weekday sports anchor, where she lasted less than a year. She went to WTVJ in Miami. On December 16, 1992, she met Dombrowski when the expansion Florida Marlins signed Benito Santiago. Santiago hit the 1993 Marlins first home run in April and another month later Dombrowski asked her out. On December 31, 1995, Ross married Dombrowski in Oklahoma City. The couple settled in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They had two children by 2004. Ross was regarded as one of the first female sportscasters with a solid knowledge of sports, following in the footsteps of

Gayle Gardner Gayle Gardner (born ca. 1950) is an American sportscaster who worked for ESPN and NBC Sports beginning in 1987 until 1993. Gardner is considered a pioneer in sports broadcasting, having been the first female sports anchor to appear weekly on a ma ...

. Ross was one of the first women to speak up about workplace conditions for women in her industry. Her service at GameDay was all voice work.

Personal life

Ross married baseball executive Dave Dombrowski.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Karie 1950s births 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American television sports announcers American women television personalities College football announcers ESPN people Living people Major League Baseball broadcasters National Football League announcers People from Clinton, Oklahoma People from Norman, Oklahoma Television personalities from Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni Women sports announcers