The career of one USC Marshall School of Business MBA alumna is a testament to the value of forming a strong base in communication.
Michele Tafoya (MBA ’91) is well known not only for her talents as one of NBC Sports’ leading newscasters, but also for her vibrant social media presence. Her undergrad degree in communications sparked her interest early on in using every possible outlet to share her voice.
Her Twitter profile is quite telling, and she sums herself up there as follows: “Wife, Mom, daughter, sister, friend, journalist and wanna-be stoic.”
Stoicism is key in the world of American pro sports, and Tafoya joins the ranks of colleagues such as Erin Andrews and Andrea Kremer in having to do double duty in order to simply be treated as fairly, and respectfully, as their male counterparts.
The challenges faced by women in the world of professional sports are numerous, but Tafoya, Andrews and Kremer are part of ever increasing numbers who are living proof of the importance of gender diversity in the (literal and figurative) field.
Tafoya is currently a sideline reporter for one of America’s most-watched live TV shows—Sunday Night Football. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988 with a communications degree, she decided to pivot into the world of business. There, she would master the methods of navigation she needed in order to advance into a high profile.
She earned a position at KFAN-AM in Minneapolis, MN, covering the Minnesota Vikings and NCAA Women’s Basketball for the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers. Tafoya moved on to an analyst role at WAQS-AM in Charlotte, NC, where she became the first woman in history to call UNC-Charlotte men’s basketball games.
While in Minnesota, she worked for the Midwest Sports Channel as a host and sideline reporter during Timberwolves games. Tafoya learned the rules of TV during this time as an anchor and reporter for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. Her shift to the big networks came in 1994 when she was hired by CBS Sports, where she again made history by becoming the first woman to call an NCAA tournament game two years after she was hired. A year later, she received honors from the American Women in Radio and Television with a Gracie Award for “Outstanding Achievement by an Individual On-Air Personality” for reporting on games for the nascent WNBA league. At that time, the league’s games aired on the Lifetime Network.
Tafoya also hosted the highly rated NCAA Tournament selection show during her time at CBS. Her skills were not unacknowledged, as CBS selected her to cover both the US Open Tennis Championships and the Goodwill Games.
ABC and ESPN saw her talent as well. They hired Tafoya to host Monday Night Football and other live events for both networks. Somehow, Tafoya managed to perform double coverage on Christmas Day, 2006, when she reported on both the LA Lakers/Miami Heat broadcast for ABC in the afternoon and the Jets/Dolphins later that evening.
Visibility is key to Tafoya’s story. It should be noted that Sunday Night Football, where she is a weekly sideline reporter, has been that network’s number one prime-time show for five consecutive years. Only three other TV shows can claim this honor since 1950.
Tafoya won a Sports Emmy in 2011 (her first year with NBC) for being the most Outstanding Sports Personality in Reporting. Last year, Tafoya she reached another milestone—her 200th game in combined reporting for regular season and playoff games.
Sideline analysis and reporting is one of the more challenging positions a reporter can have. Players are often at the top or bottom of their energy level during these interviews, and a responsible journalist is tasked with telling the truth to viewers, in addition to holding an amount of sensitivity to the grueling situations the interviewee has just experienced. The added challenge of the day-to-day dynamics of gender difference is just one of the things that Tafoya has mastered.
Her USC Marshall MBA took her places that are only beginning to open up for Tafoya and multitudes of women who are as driven as she is. For a look at Michelle Tafoya’s most recent tweets, visit her profile.