Charissa Thompson

Charissa Thompson
Born	May 4, 1982 (1982-05-04) (age 29) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Education	University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A., 2004
Occupation	television host and sportscaster
Notable credit(s)	NHL on Versus Ice Level Reporter Big Ten Network, NFL on Fox, Fox Sports Net (sideline reporter) Best Damn Sports Show Period (co-host) BCS Breakdown and The BCS Show (analyst) FSN Rocky Mountain (reporter and host of Rockies All Access for the Colorado Rockies) Access DirecTV Magazine April 2009 (feature story interviewer) Big Saturday Night (GSN) Big Ten's Best (Big Ten Network) Numbers Never Lie on ESPN (host)
Official website

Charissa Thompson (born May 4, 1982) is an American television host and sportscaster, currently for ESPN.

Biography

Education and early career

Thompson grew up in Seattle, Washington. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she interned at ABC affiliate KEYT-TV.^[1][2][3]

Broadcasting career

Thompson began her TV career with FSN Rocky Mountain (in Denver, Colorado) in the Human Resources Department. Thompson's first on-screen job was covering the Colorado Rockies for FSN Rocky Mountain in the weekly news magazine show Rockies All Access. She also hosted WNBA Weekly and covered sports for the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Boulder.^[1]

Baseball programs she has appeared on include The 2007 MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade and The Baseball Report both on FSN.^[1]

Her duties include NFL sideline reporter for Fox, as well as for college football and college basketball games on Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net. She also appears on the college football shows Friday Night Tailgate, on Big Ten Network; as well as BCS Breakdown and The BCS Show on FSN.^[1] She also co-hosted FSN's The Best Damn Sports Show Period alongside Chris Rose and John Salley. The show was canceled in July of 2009.

She has also hosted FSN's rodeo show Toughest Cowboy.^[1] She is also the co-host of Big Saturday Night on GSN and host of countdown show Big Ten's Best on Big Ten Network.

In 2009, she performed sideline reporting in the television show Shaq Vs..

In the fall of 2009, she was named an ice-level reporter for NHL on Versus.

In 2010, Charissa appeared on the NFL Network's "NFL Now Updates". She covered the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, reporting for Yahoo! Sports. She was also recently added as a co-host for the Speed Network's "Fast Track To Fame" alongside NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip.

In June and July of 2010, Thompson covered the FIFA World Cup in South Africa for Yahoo! Sports. In January 2011, Charissa covered the BCS National Championship game for Yahoo! Sports. In February 2011, she covered the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas, for Yahoo! Sports. Also in February, Charissa covered the NBA All-Star Game for Yahoo! Sports.

In January 2011, Charissa covered the NHL All-Star Game for Versus.

In February 2011, Versus dropped Charissa, as well as Lindsay Soto, from their ice-level reporting staff after the NBC-Comcast meger and were replaced by Pierre McGuire and Brian Engblom by forming the Inside the Glass.

In June 2011, Thompson joined ESPN. She along with Michael Smith co-host the show Numbers Never Lie, which debuted September 12, 2011.^[4]

Non-broadcasting works

Thompson appeared on the cover of the April 2009 issue of Access DirecTV (satellite TV provider DirecTV's monthly TV Guide-like magazine) and interviewed Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels for the feature story.^[5]

In 2009, Thompson was nominated as one of Playboy's Sexiest Sportscasters of the year. She made it as a Top Five finalist, but the award was given to ESPN's Erin Andrews.

Personal

She currently lives in Hermosa Beach, CA.

In the fall of 2009, Thompson broke her foot and her ankle in a step aerobics class and had to miss most of the 2009 NFL and college football season due to surgery. Charissa enjoys yoga, running, cycling, and rhythmic gymnastics. ^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Fox Sports - The scoop on Charissa Thompson
2. ^ ^{a b} Big Ten Network Talent Biography - Charissa Thompson
3. ^ Big Ten Network - Friday Night Tailgate - The Talent
4. ^ Charissa Thompson to ESPN
5. ^ Access DirecTV April 2009

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External links

• Official website
• Charissa Thompson on Twitter

Persondata
Name	Thompson, Charissa
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 May 1982
Place of birth	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death