Our stories give us hope in challenging times. Support JWA by Dec. 31.
Close [x]

Show [+]

Dana Jacobson

b. November 5, 1971

by JWA Staff
Our work to expand the Encyclopedia is ongoing. We are providing this brief biography for Dana Jacobson until we are able to commission a full entry.

Dana Jacobson (left), host of ESPN First Take, speaks with Rear Admiral Nora Tyson aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

Image courtesy of the US Navy via Wikimedia Commons.

Dana Jacobson has shown resilience in her career as a sportscaster, transitioning from television to radio while remaining a trusted female anchor in a male-dominated field. Jacobson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1993 and began working her way up the ladder as a weekend sports anchor, producer, and editor at WPBN/WTOM-TV in Traverse City, Michigan. From 1996 to 1998 she reported for KXTV’s Monday Night Football, ABC’s Sacramento affiliate, then became its weekend sports anchor. She won a National Headliner Award in 1998 and an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2000 for her coverage. In 2002 she began working for ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor, and from 2005 to 2011 she served as co-host of ESPN First Take (originally called Cold Pizza). In 2012 she left ESPN to co-host a CBS radio show, TBD in the AM, offering sports commentary in the same timeslot as several of her former ESPN colleagues. As of 2024, she works for CBS Sports, is a regular contributor to the radio show NFL Today, and hosts CBS’s We Need to Talk and CBS Saturday Morning. In 2018, the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation inducted Jacobson into its Hall of Fame.  

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Listen to Our Podcast

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Dana Jacobson." (Viewed on December 13, 2024) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jacobson-dana>.