Dianna Russini
Born
Dianna Marie Russini

(1983-02-11) February 11, 1983 (age 41)
New York City, U.S.
EducationGeorge Mason University
Notable credit(s)SportsCenter
NFL Live
Association football career
Position(s) Forward[1]
Youth career
Americans Soccer Club
1997–2000 Old Tappan Golden Knights
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 George Mason Patriots 51 (7)

Dianna Marie Russini (born February 11, 1983) is an American sports journalist who currently works as an NFL reporter and insider for The Athletic.[2] She had previously worked for several years at ESPN as an NFL analyst and insider, appearing frequently on NFL Countdown and NFL Live. Russini joined ESPN and became a SportsCenter anchor in July 2015.[3] Prior to being hired by ESPN, she worked as the main sports anchor for WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.[4]

Born in The Bronx, Russini grew up in Norwood, New Jersey, and attended Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan,[5] where she was All State in soccer, basketball, softball and track. She played soccer for four seasons at George Mason University.[6][7] In total, she scored seven goals and recorded one assist in 51 appearances for George Mason.[1][8][9]

At the time she joined the network, she was the youngest reporter hired at WNBC in New York City as a reporter. She moved to sports soon after moving to Seattle as a reporter and anchor for CSN Northwest,[10] having also worked for News 12 Westchester and NBC stations WRC-TV, WNBC, and WVIT.[11] In July 2015, Russini joined ESPN after Disney executives saw her sportscast in DC. She served as a SportsCenter anchor and provided sideline reporting, with Tom Luginbill, for ESPN’s XFL Saturday afternoon games.[12][13]

On August 11, 2023, it was reported that Russini would leave ESPN for The Athletic to be its lead NFL Insider. At The Athletic she is slated to make appearances on their video platforms and on podcasts.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Dianna Russini". George Mason Patriots. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Dianna Russini leaving ESPN to become The Athletic's top NFL insider". 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  3. ^ "Dianna Russini". ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  4. ^ Steinberg, Dan. "Dianna Russini will leave NBC Washington, join ESPN". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  5. ^ Raj, Sunil Sunder. Dianna Russini, Double G Sports. Accessed August 16, 2019. "Originally from the Bronx, Russini’s parents’ moved the family to Norwood, New Jersey to give Dianna and her siblings a better life and education.... While attending Old Tappan High School, Russini kept a busy schedule playing four sports, girls' soccer, basketball, softball and track."
  6. ^ Smith, Cam (13 March 2017). "Girls Sports Month: ESPN anchor Dianna Russini got where she is because of soccer, determination". USA Today High School Sports. USA Today. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  7. ^ "George Mason 2021 Women's Soccer Information Guide" (PDF). George Mason Patriots. August 13, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "2004 George Mason Women's Soccer Game Results". George Mason Patriots. 2004. Archived from the original on March 7, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "George Mason vs William & Mary (Oct 01, 2004)". George Mason Patriots. October 1, 2004. Archived from the original on March 8, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "How Did She Get Her Career Started?". The Spun. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  11. ^ Steinberg, Dan (2016-11-14). "ESPN nabs another NBC Washington reporter". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  12. ^ "From Old Tappan to ESPN: How did Dianna Russini end up on SportsCenter? - NJ.com". Highschoolsports.nj.com. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  13. ^ Bill, Hofheimer (6 November 2019). "ABC and ESPN Announce Commentator Teams for XFL 2020 Season". espnpressroom.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  14. ^ Neumann, Sam (2023-08-11). "Dianna Russini departing ESPN to become The Athletic's top NFL insider". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2023-08-11.

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