ESPN analyst Sarah Spain discussed her personal journey and talked with student-athletes and coaches about life after college sports. The event was part of an initiative to nurture the growth of student-athletes and coaches.

ESPN’s Sarah Spain Helps Student-Athletes Prepare for Life After Sports

Award-winning sports journalist and broadcaster Sarah Spain addressed St. Norbert College student-athletes and coaches last week, focusing on empowering women in sports and sharing advice for student-athletes as they prepare for life after their sporting careers.

The event, organized in collaboration with the Norman Miller Center, was part of a broader initiative aimed at nurturing the growth of student-athletes and coaches at SNC. Athletic Director Cam Fuller praised Spain for her insight into “cultivating a healthy identity in and after sport.”

Spain shared her personal journey, recounting her multifaceted experience as a field-hockey, basketball and track athlete. Initially aspiring to be an actress, Spain’s dreams took a turn when she realized sports reporting came naturally to her. But working in the male-dominated industry wasn’t a path she had ever considered.

“I was a three-sport athlete, was All-State for track and for field hockey, All-Eastern in basketball, I was MVP and captain for all three, I got recruited for college for all three, I played Division I sports,” Spain said. “[But] not one single time in my entire life did anyone say, ‘do you want to work in sports?’ … Not once. So it just didn’t occur to me.”

With some encouragement from a teacher, she aimed to incorporate comedy and entertainment into her sports coverage. But she discovered that, as a woman, her approach was often met with resistance. She said she frequently had to navigate stereotypes and prejudices.

“It was always very misogynistic, and it was the reason I never really wanted to get into sports radio,” Spain said. “It felt very exclusive, and it was still very much the old boys’ club, where it was OK to be homophobic, racist, sexist, all those things. [They didn’t] really consider the audience, and that there might be people listening who actually wanted to feel like they were invited to the party more.

“It took me a very short amount of time there to decide that once I had enough agency and power ... I was going to try to change that from within,” she said, adding that she used humor and quick wit to confront others on air.

Spain continued to make her mark at ESPN, where she began writing before branching out into TV and radio shows. During her 13 years with ESPN, she says she has witnessed the industry evolve, with more emphasis on representation and authentic storytelling.

“It’s been a really interesting thing to watch the industry change in terms of representation, by women and people of all different authenticities, and allowing them to be themselves instead of the same old, same old,” she said.

Spain offered advice to student-athletes about navigating their own lives after sports. She encouraged them to consider their identities beyond their athletic careers, emphasizing the importance of early self-reflection and thinking about whether their future careers could intersect with sports.

Faith Fehrman ’26, a data analytics major, hopes to pursue a career in sports analytics. She says Spain’s visit helps her see that her goals are achievable. “[It] gives me comfort in the fact that I am not alone on my journey toward a career in the sports industry,” Fehrman says.

As these student-athletes prepare to enter a challenging job market and an ever-changing world, Spain reminded them of the valuable skills they’ve developed and how they can be assets in their future careers. She stressed the significance of leveraging the attributes and qualities acquired through sports, such as resilience, leadership and the ability to overcome adversity.

“You guys are all athletes. That gives you the biggest leg up when you go into the world, and not just if you want to work in sports,” Spain said.

“You are in a Division III school where you get this great balance of getting to play a sport that you love playing, to still cultivate that side of yourself, while also actually attending classes, getting a great education,” she added. “This is really what a student-athlete NCAA experience is supposed to be.”
 

Oct. 25, 2023