Suzy Kolber

Suzy Kolber (born 1964 (age 42) is an American football sideline reporter, co-producer, and a former ESPN sports anchor and reporter. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but returned to ESPN in late 1999. In 2023, she and several other ESPN employees were terminated by the network in what was described as a cost-cutting measure.

Kolber was raised in a Jewish family in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

She attended Sandy Run Middle School in Dresher, Pennsylvania, and is a 1982 graduate of Upper Dublin High School.

While an undergraduate, she worked at Dynamic Cable in Coral Gables, Florida, as a sports director (1984–86) and was on the University of Miami water ski team.

From 1985 to 1989, Kolber produced the 5:30 p.m. sportscast at WTVJ-TV in Miami, winning a local Sports Emmy in 1988.

Kolber graduated from the University of Miami in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications.

After graduation, she worked at CBS Sports in New York City as a videotape coordinator in 1986.

In addition, she produced two magazine shows, Greyhound Racing America in Miami, Florida (1988–90) and Cowboys Special Edition in Irving, Texas (1990–91).

From 1989 to 1990, she freelanced as a specials producer for WPLG-TV in Miami.

In 1991, Kolber's freelance assignments included work as a reporter/producer for Breeders' Cup Newsfeed in Greenwich, Connecticut; a field producer for Inside Edition in New York City; a sports specials producer for WCIX-TV in Miami, and a producer/director for NFL Films.

She was a weekend sports anchor and weekday feature reporter at WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach, Florida from December 1991 until she moved to ESPN in 1993.

She later served as an anchor on SportsCenter, a reporter on College GameDay, and co-host of the X Games in 1995 and 1996.

Kolber also hosted ESPN2's SportsFigures, which uses sports celebrities and analogies to teach math and physics.

Kolber previously covered a variety of assignments for ESPN from the National Football League to the 1996 ESPN X Games bicycle-stunt events and Grand Slam tennis events.

She was a sideline reporter on ESPN’s Monday Night Football with Michele Tafoya.

In 1996, 2000 and 2001, she hosted the Summer X Games and Winter X Games, and co-hosted the event again in Aspen in 2006.

She hosted horse racing events, including all three legs of the Triple Crown for ESPN and ESPN2 studio programs.

Kolber left ESPN for Fox Sports in November 1996, where she anchored Fox Sports News for Fox Sports Net and reported from NFL games.

She was the lead reporter for the network's coverage of the NFL on Fox teaming up with the network's No. 1 announcer team of Pat Summerall and John Madden for one game in 1998.

She also covered horse racing.

For the 1999 through 2003 NFL seasons, Kolber hosted NFL Matchup.

She also previously contributed “Backstage” segments to Monday Night Countdown.

She served as studio host for the network's coverage of the NHL on Fox, including both the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals and the Playoffs.

In March 1999, Kolber co-hosted a Fox non-sports presentation with Maury Povich, Opening the Lost Tombs: Live From Egypt, an archaeological event that promised to "unveil five-thousand year old mysteries."

Fox's TV cameras showed the first live excavation of Egypt's ancient Giza plateau; Kolber reported live from the tomb.

She returned to ESPN in August 1999.

Kolber returned to ESPN in August 1999 after originally joining the network in 1993 as co-host for ESPN2's SportsNight, when the network debuted October 1 of that year.

On December 20, 2003, while Kolber was covering a New York Jets game, former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath twice stated, in his televised sideline interview with Kolber, that he wanted to kiss her, and "couldn't care less about the team strugg-a-ling."

Kolber responded, "Thanks, Joe. I'll take that as a huge compliment."

Kolber hosted ESPN’s year-round NFL Live news and information show, and she played a role in ESPN’s comprehensive coverage of the annual NFL Draft, hosting the Day 2 telecast from 2004 to 2006, and leading analysis segments on Day 1.

During the NFL off-season, Kolber served as an anchor on SportsCenter and as an on-site and studio host for ESPN's tennis coverage at the French Open from 2004 to 2006) and Wimbledon from 2003 to 2006 and in 2009.

Kolber joined ESPN’s MNF team during its inaugural year in 2006 after five previous seasons on ESPN's Sunday Night Football (2001–05).

As a member of the MNF team, Kolber helped the longtime franchise become the most-watched program in cable television history.

Kolber worked the ABC Sports broadcast of Super Bowl XL in Detroit in 2006 with Michele Tafoya and contributed to the network’s pre-game show.

She became the first female recipient of the Maxwell Club Sports Broadcaster of the Year Award in 2006 and was named to Sports Business Dailys 2004 list of the 10 favorite sports TV personalities of the past 10 years.

In 2007, she hosted ESPN’s pre-race NASCAR Countdown program.

While covering the 2011 NFL Draft, Kolber came under fire for her interview with Mark Ingram II, who started to sob when Kolber read an e-mail from Ingram's imprisoned father.

The interview was perceived by some as being manipulative.

On September 13, 2011, ESPN2 debuted NFL32, co-hosted by Kolber and Chris Mortensen.

With a backdrop similar to a sports bar, including wainscoting, sports memorabilia, and dark woodwork, the show focuses on "dissect the biggest topics of the day from all 32 NFL teams," according to the network, and attributes much of its design to that of the Dan Patrick Show, a national radio and television show on DirecTV's Audience network.