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Samantha Ponder

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Samantha Ponder
Ponder reporting forFox College SportsatJack Trice Stadiumin October 2010
Born
Samantha Sainte-Claire Steele

(1985-12-11)December 11, 1985(age 38)
Phoenix, Arizona,U.S.
Alma materThe King’s College
Liberty University
OccupationFormerESPNSunday NFL Countdownhost
Years active2006–present
Spouse
​
(m.2012)​
Children3

Samantha Ponder(néeSteele;[1]born December 11, 1985) is an Americansportscasterwho most recently hostedSunday NFL CountdownonESPN.[2]Prior to hosting Sunday NFL Countdown, Ponder worked as a reporter & host forESPNcollege football and as a basketball sideline reporter.[3]Ponder replacedErin AndrewsonCollege GameDaySaturdays at 10 AM ET on ESPN, as well as co-host of the Saturday 9 AM ET edition on ESPNU.[4]In addition to her duties on College Gameday, Ponder had been the regular sideline reporter for ESPN's Thursday Night College Football withRece Davis,Jesse Palmer,andDavid Pollackfrom August 2012 until 2014.[5]Ponder also appeared on the ESPN-owned Texas-oriented regional networkLonghorn Network.

Biography

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Born inPhoenix, Arizona,Ponder attendedCentral High Schoolin Phoenix. Ponder first attendedThe King's Collegein New York City[6]after high school. While in New York City, she applied for a hostess job at ESPN Zone where she met Ben Keeperman, a college football researcher and manager with ABC Sports Radio, which led to an internship at the network, which in turn led to a researcher-assistant job with ABC-TV on the college football studio show.[7]She transferred toLiberty Universityafter Liberty's Sr. Sports Producer Bruce Carey offered her a job as sideline reporter for theLiberty Flamessports television network.[8]After graduating in 2009, she worked forFox Sports NetandFox College Sportsas a sideline reporter forPac-10andBig 12college basketball and football games. On July 7, 2011,ESPN'sLonghorn Networkannounced that it had hired Ponder as a sideline reporter.[9]Ponder, along with Kevin Dunn andLowell Galindo,were the newly created network's first three talent hires.[8]After accepting her position with theLonghorn Network,Ponder relocated toAustin, Texas.[8]

Personal life

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Ponder is aChristian.[10]After briefly dating, she married then-Minnesota VikingsquarterbackChristian Ponderon December 17, 2012, inHudson, Wisconsin.[11]She started appearing on ESPN/ABC broadcasts by her married name, starting with the January 1, 2013 broadcast of the CapitalOne Bowl.[12]The couple have three children.[13][14][15]

References

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  1. ^"Ponder marries ESPN sideline reporter in Hudson".KARE. December 19, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon November 4, 2013.RetrievedNovember 3,2013.
  2. ^Karangu, Jessie (March 23, 2017)."Sam Ponder is named Sunday NFL Countdown host, Trey Wingo and Suzy Kolber take on new roles".USA Today.RetrievedJune 20,2017.
  3. ^"Samantha Steele".ESPN MediaZone. July 7, 2011.RetrievedDecember 8,2013.
  4. ^McIntyre, Jason (July 11, 2012)."Samantha Steele to Replace Erin Andrews as Host of Gameday on ESPNU; Heather Cox New Saturday Night Sideline Reporter".thebiglead.com.RetrievedJuly 11,2012.
  5. ^"ESPN drafts Pollack to replace James on Thursday games".USA Today.June 24, 2012.RetrievedJune 25,2012.
  6. ^"Samantha Steele: From Liberty Mountain to the pinnacle of sports broadcasting".Liberty University.RetrievedJune 6,2014.
  7. ^"Samantha Steele took unlikely path to replacing Erin Andrews at ESPN".Sun Sentinel.RetrievedJune 6,2014.
  8. ^abc"Liberty Alum Steele Hired by Longhorn Network".Liberty University. July 8, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 9,2011.
  9. ^"Talent with Texas ties joining Longhorn Network".Houston Chronicle.July 7, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 9,2011.
  10. ^Romano, Jason (March 24, 2017)."Samantha Ponder Replacing Chris Berman on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown".Sports Spectrum.RetrievedJune 13,2022.
  11. ^"Vikings' Ponder takes a hike, marries in Wisconsin".Minneapolis Star-Tribune.RetrievedDecember 19,2012.
  12. ^"Introducing Samantha Ponder".Diamond Joe's Media Rantz.RetrievedJanuary 1,2013.
  13. ^"Say Hello to Bowden Sainte-Claire. SamPonder".twincities.com. July 23, 2014.RetrievedNovember 27,2014.
  14. ^"Sam Ponder on Instagram:" It's hard for me to write a sentence about Price Anne-Drew Ponder without crying or laughing… "".Instagram.Archived fromthe originalon December 24, 2021.RetrievedAugust 14,2021.
  15. ^Juneau, Jen (July 23, 2018)."And Baby Makes Five! ESPN's Samantha Ponder Welcomes Daughter Price: 'So Thankful'".Peoplemag.RetrievedMay 24,2024.
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