Mark Schlabach (born in

Knox, Indiana Knox is a city in Center Township, Starke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 3,704 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Starke County. History Knox was founded in 1851, and is named for American Revolutiona ...

) is an American sports journalist, New York Times best-selling author, columnist, and reporter for

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

. Schlabach joined ESPN.com in July 2006 as a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

columnist. He is notable during college football season for the weekly "On the Mark" column and is a regular contributor to ESPN programs like

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'', or also referred to as ''OTL'', is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in mostly American sports on and off the field of play. The primary host of the show is ...

College Football Live ''College Football Live'' is a show that airs weekdays during the college football season on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPNU. Its premiere was on Monday, July 23, 2007. Wendi Nix serves as the lead host, and it also features ESPN college football analyst ...

, The Experts, and

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 ...

. Schlabach graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. He is a member of

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlva ...

fraternity. He spent nine years at ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', covering University of Georgia, the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

, the NFL, and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

. Later, Schlabach spent two years at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' covering college football, college basketball, and boxing. Schlabach is the author of nearly one dozen books, including the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

best sellers ''Called to Coach: Reflections on Life, Faith, and Football'', a collaboration with former

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

football coach

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

; ''The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family and Ducks Built a Dynasty,'' a collaboration with

Duck Commander Duck Commander is an American hunting and outdoor recreation company in West Monroe, Louisiana. Founded by Phil Robertson, a football quarterback at Louisiana Tech University, he developed and patented the company's namesake duck call the ''Duc ...

CEO Willie Robertson and his wife Korie Robertson; and ''Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander'', and ''unPHILtered: The Way I See It,'' which were collaborations with Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson. Schlabach is also the co-author of the New York Times bestseller, ''Sicology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle,'' a collaboration with Duck Dynasty star Si Robertson, and ''Good Call: Reflections on Faith, Family and Fowl,'' a collaboration with Duck Dynasty's Jase Robertson. On May 19, 2013, ''Happy, Happy, Happy'' debuted as the No. 1 best-selling nonfiction book and e-book on ''The New York Times'' Best Sellers list. In September 2013, Schlabach had three books he co-authored on the New York Times bestsellers list simultaneously -- ''Sicology 1'' was ranked No. 1, ''Happy, Happy, Happy'' was No. 3 and ''The Duck Commander Family'' was No. 9. ''Good Call: Reflections Faith, Family and Fowl'' debuted at No. 6 on May 25, 2014, and ''UnPhiltered'' debuted at No. 2 on September 21, 2014. Schlabach is also the co-author of ''Heisman: The Man Behind the Trophy'' and other college football books about the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. Schlabach's tweets on

Deandre Ayton Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. (born July 23, 1998) is a Bahamian professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference in the 2017� ...

's wiretapping controversy came under some fire with some questioning Schlabach's knowledge, involvement, and motives for such tweets. Schlabach lives in

Madison, Georgia Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke-Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,979 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County and the si ...

with his wife and three children.

Bibliography

* ''Destiny's Dogs: Georgia's Championship Season'' (2003) * ''What It Means to Be a Hokie'' (2006) * ''What It Means to Be a Seminole'' (2007) * ''What It Means to be a Gator'' (2008) * ''Georgia Football: Yesterday & Today'' (2009) * ''Called to Coach: Reflections on Life, Faith, and Football'' (2010) * ''Always a Hokie: Players, Coaches, and Fans Share Their Passion for Hokies Football'' (2011) * ''Heisman: The Man Behind the Trophy'' (2012) * ''The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family and Ducks Built a Dynasty'' (2012) * ''Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy and the Duck Commander'' (2013) * ''Sicology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle'' (2013) * ''Good Call: Reflections on Faith, Family, and Fowl'' (2013) * ''unPHILtered: The Way I See It'' (2014) * "Death Row Chaplain: Unbelievable True Stories from America's Most Notorious Prison" (2015) * '' Inseparable: How Family and Sacrifice Forged a Path to the NFL'' (2019) with

Shaquem Griffin Shaquem Alphonso Griffin (born July 20, 1995) is a former American football linebacker. He is the twin brother of Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Shaquill Griffin, and both brothers played college football at UCF. When Griffin was 4 years old, ...

and

Shaquill Griffin Shaquill "Shaq" Griffin (born July 20, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He is the twin brother of former linebacker Shaquem Griffin, and both brothers played college f ...

References

External links

ESPN.com bio and archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlabach, Mark 1972 births Living people American sports journalists People from Knox, Indiana People from Madison, Georgia Sigma Nu University of Georgia alumni