
Beth Mowins is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She has been a broadcaster for a variety of sports, including basketball, softball, and soccer. In 2021, Mowins became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV. She has also made history by becoming the first woman to call a regular-season game for the Chicago Cubs in 2020 and was the first female play-by-play announcer for an NFL game on CBS in 2017.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Beth Mowins |
| Profession | Play-by-play announcer and sports journalist |
| Sport | Basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball, football |
| Organizations | ESPN, CBS, Marquee Sports Network |
| Achievements | First woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV, first female play-by-play announcer for NFL on CBS Sports, first woman in 30 years to call an NFL game |
| Education | Lafayette College, Syracuse University |
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What You'll Learn

Beth Mowins' basketball history
Beth Mowins is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She was born in Syracuse, New York, and her father was a high-school basketball coach. She played basketball, softball, and soccer at Cicero-North Syracuse High School in North Syracuse, New York. She was also the captain of the varsity basketball team for two seasons at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where she graduated with a BA in 1989. She was a three-time all-conference selection and 1,000-point scorer, and she is still the school's all-time assists leader with 715. She was inducted into the Lafayette College Maroon Club Hall of Fame.
Mowins joined ESPN in 1994, covering college sports, including basketball. She has been the network's lead voice on softball coverage, including the Women's College World Series. She has also called NCAA Championships in basketball. In 2015, she became the play-by-play voice for Oakland and later Las Vegas Raiders preseason TV broadcasts. In 2017, she became the first woman in 30 years to call an NFL game when she announced the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos season opener as part of ESPN's Monday Night Football. In doing so, she also became the first female broadcaster to call a nationally televised NFL game.
In 2021, Mowins made her NBC Olympics debut, hosting softball for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the same year, she became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV. She also worked with analyst Doris Burke as part of ESPN's first all-women broadcasting and production crew for an NBA game on International Women's Day in 2023.
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Her career as a play-by-play announcer
Beth Mowins is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist. She joined ESPN in 1994, covering college sports, including basketball, football, softball, soccer, and volleyball. Mowins has been the network's lead voice on softball coverage, including the Women's College World Series. She has also been a part of ESPN's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup. In addition to her work with ESPN, Mowins has called NFL games for CBS Sports and has been the play-by-play voice for the Las Vegas Raiders preseason games since 2015.
Mowins made history in 2017 when she became the first woman in 30 years to call a National Football League game for ESPN. She called the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos game as part of ESPN's season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader. This also made her the first female broadcaster to call a nationally televised NFL game. In the same year, she became the play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Browns-Indianapolis Colts matchup on CBS Sports, making her the first female play-by-play announcer in the network's 58-year history.
In 2021, Mowins made her NBC Olympics debut, hosting softball for the Tokyo Olympics. She also became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV when she worked with analyst Doris Burke as part of ESPN's plan to have an all-female broadcasting and production crew. In 2022, Mowins and Burke returned to call another NBA game on International Women's Day.
Mowins has received several awards for her work in sports media, including the Marty Glickman Award for Leadership in Sports Media in 2015 and the CoSIDA Jake Wade Award for outstanding media contributions covering collegiate athletics in 2014. She was also inducted into the Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame in 2009.
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Her work with the NBA
Beth Mowins is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She joined ESPN in 1994, covering college sports, including basketball, football, softball, soccer, and volleyball.
In 2021, Mowins made history when she became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV. She achieved this feat when she worked with analyst Doris Burke in calling an NBA game as part of ESPN's plan to have an all-women broadcasting and production crew for the first time on a national scale. Mowins and Burke returned together the following season during International Women's Day in 2023.
Mowins has been the voice of the Women's College World Series for over 20 years and was part of ESPN's coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. In addition to her work with ESPN, she has called NFL games for CBS Sports, including the Oakland Raiders and later the Las Vegas Raiders preseason games since 2015. She also made history as the first woman to call a regular-season game for the Chicago Cubs in 2020.
Mowins is a graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School and Syracuse University, where she obtained her master's degree in communications from the Newhouse School. She was a basketball, softball, and soccer player in high school and was captain of the varsity basketball team for two seasons at Lafayette College. She has received numerous awards for her work in sports media, including the Marty Glickman Award in 2015 and the NFCA Melinda Fischer Distinguished Service Award in 2024.
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Her assignments with ESPN
Beth Mowins joined ESPN in 1994, covering college sports, including basketball, football, softball, soccer, and volleyball. Her primary assignments are men's and women's college sports. She has been the network's leading voice on softball coverage, including the Women's College World Series. She has also been a staple on ESPN's regular-season men's and women's basketball schedules.
In 2005, Mowins became the second woman to call nationally televised college football games for ESPN. In 2011, she was part of ESPN's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. In 2015, she became the play-by-play announcer for Oakland Raiders preseason TV broadcasts and later for the Las Vegas Raiders.
In 2017, Mowins became the first woman in 30 years to call a National Football League game when she announced ESPN's Monday Night Football opening-week late broadcast between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos. She was also the first female broadcaster to call a nationally televised NFL game. That same year, she worked on four NFL games for CBS Sports.
In 2021, Mowins made her NBC Olympics debut, hosting softball for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also became the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV. In 2022, she worked with analyst Doris Burke to call an NBA game as part of ESPN's first all-women broadcasting and production crew on a national scale. They returned together the following season during International Women's Day 2023.
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Her work on NFL games
Beth Mowins is a veteran and pioneering play-by-play broadcaster who has called a variety of sports for ESPN. She joined the network in 1994, covering college sports, including basketball, football, softball, soccer, and volleyball. Her primary assignments are men's and women's college sports.
In 2005, Mowins became the second woman to call nationally televised college football games for ESPN. She made history again in 2017 when she became the first woman in 30 years to call a National Football League game. She called the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos game as part of ESPN's season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader in September 2017 with Rex Ryan. This also made her the first female broadcaster to call a nationally televised NFL game.
In addition to her ESPN NFL assignment, Mowins has called NFL games for CBS Sports. During the 2017 NFL season, she worked on four NFL games for the network and became the first female play-by-play announcer in CBS Sports' 58-year history. She has also been the play-by-play announcer for the Las Vegas Raiders' preseason games since 2015, working alongside NFL legends Tim Brown and Matt Millen.
Mowins has received several awards for her work in sports broadcasting. In 2015, she was honoured with the Marty Glickman Award for leadership in sports media by Syracuse. In 2014, she received the CoSIDA Jake Wade Award for her outstanding media contributions to covering collegiate athletics. In 2024, she was recognised with the NFCA Melinda Fischer Distinguished Service Award for her dedication to the sport of fastpitch softball.
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Frequently asked questions
Beth Mowins is a pioneering play-by-play broadcaster and sports journalist. She has called a variety of sports for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She has made history several times, including becoming the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game in 2017, the first woman to call play-by-play for an NBA game on network TV in 2021, and the first woman to call a regular-season game for the Chicago Cubs in 2020.
Beth Mowins graduated from Lafayette College in 1989 with a BA. She was captain of the varsity basketball team and is still the school's all-time assists leader. She later earned a master's degree in broadcast and digital journalism or communications from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School in 1990.
After graduating from college, Mowins started working in local radio in Homer, New York. She worked as a news director, sports director, reporter, and morning DJ.

















