Longest-Tenured SportsCenter Anchor Will Continue SportsCenter and Hockey Roles

After recently celebrating 30 years with ESPN, Linda Cohn has signed a new, multiyear deal to remain with the network as an anchor for SportsCenter and a contributor to ESPN's coverage of the NHL.

Anchoring the late night edition of SportsCenter from ESPN's Los Angeles studios, Cohn also hosts the ESPN+ hockey program In the Crease and co-hosts the podcast of the same name. She also reports on the NHL with news and features for SportsCenter and other ESPN platforms and serves as a reporter on game telecasts.

Cohn will continue all of those roles as her new contract extends her presence on ESPN that began when she joined the network in 1992 and hosted her first SportsCenter on July 11, 1992.

"Linda has had an amazing career at ESPN and she continues to serve our fans after 30 years on the air," said Norby Williamson, ESPN Executive Editor & Head of Event & Studio Production.

"Her diligence and creativity have helped SportsCenter become a destination and an iconic brand for sports fans and our viewers continue to be the lucky recipients of her expertise, passion for sports and outstanding work, both on SportsCenter and our NHL coverage. We're very happy that she's going to continue delivering for years to come."

In 2016, Cohn was recognized for her 5,000th episode of SportsCenter, the most of any anchor in ESPN history. And in 2017, she was inducted into the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Hall of Fame.

"Hosting SportsCenter is huge - it never gets old for me," said Cohn. "It's what the viewers connect me with the most, and that's a good thing. Every time I talk to a fan, a viewer, through social media, or I run into them at the grocery store, or when I'm out walking my dog Babs, they always say it's comforting to see me still doing SportsCenter.

"And I say thank you and ask them why they say that, and the answer is about seeing someone who you grew up with still doing what they're doing, and someone who made an impact for so many others, especially women," she said. "I've heard this from so many women in the business now that I'm at my 30-year anniversary, that if it wasn't for me as youngsters, seeing that a woman could be hosting SportsCenter, they never would have thought they could do something like that. That's very special to me."

Cohn has displayed her versatility during her ESPN career with hosting, reporting, commentating, interviewing, writing and calling play-by-play. She also has appeared in many of ESPN's iconic "This Is SportsCenter" commercials.

"I still believe that whatever I'm doing for ESPN, there are people out there who are seeing me for the very first time. And I get motivated by that because to this day, I still feel that I have to prove that I belong to be there," Cohn said.

"That helps me. I use that as inspiration to make every show special. That was my mantra way back when I first started at ESPN and why should I change that now? It's worked so far."