ESPN announces retirement of SportsCenter legend

Linda Cohn, ESPN’s longest-tenured SportsCenter anchor, announced her retirement via a company release June 22. Her final broadcast will be June 30.

Cohn has hosted more editions of SportsCenter than anyone in ESPN history. She will join three SportsCenter editions June 26. Her final broadcast will be June 30.

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“When I look back, I have amazing memories of the shows I hosted, the games I reported on, the athletes I met and the outstanding colleagues I got to work with,” Cohn said in a press release. “I’ve always said I was a fan first and I’ve always tried to keep that top of mind when I was doing SportsCenter or anything else.

“But what I’m most proud of is that my career lasted long enough for me to see little girls grow up watching SportsCenter, enter this business, and succeed in it,” she said. “If my journey helped make that path a little easier for them, then that’s the achievement I’ll cherish most.”

Cohn joined ESPN in July 1992 and hosted her first SportsCenter edition at 2 a.m. on July 11, 1992. She most recently anchored the late-night edition of SportsCenter that originated from Los Angeles until 2025.

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In 2016, Cohn was recognized for hosting her 5,000th edition of SportsCenter. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Hall of Fame.

Cohn began her career in broadcasting in 1981 on her native Long Island as a radio news anchor, writer and sports reporter.

“You know who was the nicest, coolest and most genuine woman I worked with at ESPN? Linda Cohn,” former ESPN and Fox News alumnus Britt McHenry wrote on X. “I was one of those girls, Linda. How lucky was I that I got to work alongside someone who inspired me every day. Congrats and let’s talk hockey soon.”

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During her career at ESPN, the versatile Cohn has hosted, reported, commentated, interviewed, written and called play-by-play. A collegiate ice hockey goalie at Oswego (NY) State University, she was a frequent contributor to ESPN’s hockey coverage over the years, most recently as a host and reporter.

“When a guy is up at bat and he hits a home run, because you were so great with home run calls, I think I have an idea for a home run call and a catchphrase over a highlight,” Cohn recently told ESPN alum Rich Eisen. “Whether it’s Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, as soon as they on the highlight hit a ball that obviously was going to be a home run, I would say, ‘Mike Piazza: master batter.’ “