Behind The Mic: Christine Williamson to Join SportsCenter and Women’s College Basketball Studio Team; Joe Buck Named to National Baseball Hall of Fame
Story Highlights
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, Tyrese Haliburton joins NBA on Prime as commentator; Robert Griffin III to Call his First NFL Game for Fox Sports; and more.
Christine Williamson Expands ESPN Studio Role Across SportsCenter and Women’s College Basketball
Christine Williamson has been elevated to two marquee on-air roles — co-anchoring the 6 p.m. ET SportsCenter with Kevin Negandhi and serving as ESPN’s lead women’s college basketball host, including the signature College GameDay Covered by State Farm franchise — further establishing her as one of ESPN’s top emerging voices across both flagship news and live event studio programming.
With the 2025–26 women’s college season already underway, Williamson immediately becomes ESPN’s lead host, beginning with pregame and halftime coverage of Penn State at No. 3 South Carolina game on Sunday, Dec. 14 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). — In January, Williamson will also headline Women’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm and anchor studio coverage of the season through the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.
Williamson will begin co-hosting the 6 p.m. SportsCenter with Negandhi in January.
“Christine has earned these high-profile roles on two of our most important content areas – SportsCenter and women’s college basketball,” says Burke Magnus, President of Content. “Christine connects with fans through her energy, personality and knowledge of sports, and she’s proven throughout her ESPN career that she can anchor coverage at the highest level — both on SportsCenter and on the road with GameDay.”
Williamson, who joined ESPN in 2019, as a digital host, has demonstrated her versatility across multiple platforms the past six years. She currently co-anchors the 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. editions of SportsCenter with Matt Barrie, in addition to co-hosting the popular Countdown to College GameDay digital show on Saturday mornings throughout the college football season. During the 2024 college basketball season, Williamson travelled weekly to campus sites as GameDay’s reporter.
Williamson’s expanded studio presence reflects a multi-year trajectory that began inside ESPN’s digital ecosystem and has steadily accelerated — from hosting SC on Snap to contributing across a broad slate of digital programming around college basketball, college football and Heisman coverage. Her growth continued as she transitioned onto television platforms, anchoring multiple editions of SportsCenter and emerging as a central voice across college sports.
Williamson’s transition comes during a period of continued growth and evolution for SportsCenter, which remains one of the most watched and widely consumed sports news programs in the industry across television, streaming, and social distribution. The 6 p.m. edition — anchored by Negandhi since 2021 — serves as the lead-in to prime-time college programming, NBA Countdown, Monday Night Football and more.
A Tampa, Florida native, Williamson is a former collegiate volleyball player at the University of Miami.
Tyrese Haliburton Joins NBA on Prime as Player Contributor
Prime Video announces Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will join NBA on Prime as a player contributor making select appearances throughout the 2025-26 season. Haliburton will make his debut on NBA on Prime’s postgame show, NBA Nightcap, following the Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinals doubleheader featuring the Miami Heat at Orlando Magic and New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors. As part of his role, Haliburton will document his recovery from an Achilles injury sustained during the NBA Finals through short video features, offering viewers an intimate look at the dedication and work required to return to elite performance. This content will be integrated into NBA on Prime coverage throughout the season.
“I’m excited to join NBA on Prime and share my basketball knowledge in a different way with viewers around the world,” says Haliburton. “This is a great opportunity to give fans an inside look at what it takes to compete at the highest level, in a unique storytelling approach by partnering with an incredible platform like Amazon. The NBA on Prime team is doing something special, and I’m looking forward to helping bring fans closer to the game.”
The two-time NBA All-Star entered the league in 2020 and quickly established himself as one of the game’s best young point guards. Known for his exceptional court vision, three-point shooting, and leadership, Haliburton has become the face of the Indiana Pacers franchise and helped lead the team to compete in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Championship game in 2023 and all the way to the NBA Finals earlier this year.
“Tyrese represents this generation of NBA stars, and we’re excited to bring his unique perspective and personality to our coverage,” says Amina Hussein, Prime Sports Head of On-Air Talent. “His willingness to share his journey back to the court with our viewers demonstrates the authenticity and transparency we’re bringing to our NBA coverage.”
Commentary Teams and Primary Telecast Schedule Revealed for 2025-26 College Football Playoff
Following the reveal of the 12 teams advancing to the 2025-26 College Football Playoff, ESPN has announced the commentator pairings for the primary telecasts throughout the full bracket. The expanded Playoff kicks off with No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma on Friday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. First-round action will continue on Saturday, Dec. 20, as ABC and ESPN will broadcast the first game of Saturday’s CFP tripleheader featuring No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M at noon, while TNT will present No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., respectively. All games on ESPN networks will be available on the ESPN App, while the two first-round games airing on TNT will also be available on truTV and HBO Max. ESPN commentator teams will call every game of the Playoff.
Following the CFP First Round, ESPN will present all four Playoff Quarterfinals, the two Playoff Semifinals and the 2026 CFP National Championship, slated for Monday, Jan. 19, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
ESPN’s top commentary team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will call a TV game in every round of the second year of the expanded CFP, including kicking off first-round coverage on Friday night with Laura Rutledge. The trio will once again be joined by Molly McGrath for the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T. The 2026 CFP National Championship in Miami will be the 12th for Fowler and Herbstreit, who have called every CFP together since the event’s inception in 2015.
Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy and McGrath will call the CFP First Round game Saturday at noon alongside Taylor McGregor, plus the trio will announce a Playoff Quarterfinal and Semifinal on TV together.
The ESPN crews that will call the first-round matchups on TNT Sports include Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and Katie George alongside Quint Kessenich, and Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick and Kris Budden alongside Stormy Buonantony.
Tessitore, Palmer and George will also team up for one of the CFP Quarterfinals, with Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and McGregor teaming up for the other quarterfinal.
Further details, including additional sideline reporters, MegaCast plans, ESPN Radio commentators and surround studio programming, will be announced in the coming weeks.
4K Presentation Expands in 2025-26
For the first time, five different CFP games will be presented in 4K. The first two games of the CFP First Round (Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at noon) will be available in 4K, along with the Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential, the Playoff Semifinals at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T.
Joe Buck to Join National Baseball Hall of Fame as Ford C. Frick Winner
After calling 24 World Series, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck has been named the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2026 Ford C. Frick Award winner. Buck and his father, 1987 Frick Award winner and longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck, are the only father-son duo to win the award.
Robert Griffin III to Call his First NFL Game for Fox Sports in New Orleans
Robert Griffin III still has a couple of football games left on his broadcast schedule.
With the college football regular season completed, Griffin will call his first NFL game on Sunday for Fox Sports when the New Orleans Saints host the Carolina Panthers.
The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner has had a solid first year with Fox, teaming up with Jason Benetti to form the network’s No. 2 college football crew.
However, the fact that Griffin will be calling an NFL game at the Superdome has special meaning for him.
“My family is rooted in New Orleans. The first time I suited up in the NFL was in New Orleans. The first time I put on a headset as a NFL game broadcaster is in New Orleans too,” he says. “God has a way of bringing you back to your roots to remind you who you are.”
Griffin was the second overall pick by Washington in the 2012 NFL Draft. He won the starting job and passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-32 win over the Saints in Week 1. Griffin led Washington to its first playoff appearance since 2007 and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year before suffering a severe knee injury in the playoffs.
Griffin joined ESPN in 2021 as a college football game analyst and for studio work on NFL coverage. That included two years as an analyst on “Monday Night Countdown.” in 2022 and ’23.
He was let go by ESPN before the start of the 2024 season as part of the network’s budget cuts. He was off television for most of last season before being hired by Fox during the spring to be a college football analyst.
Griffin said being out of the booth last year wasn’t difficult because it allowed him to spend time with his family, including coaching his daughter’s flag football team, along with the opportunity to launch his own podcast — Outta Pocket with RGIII — with his wife, Grete. He also coached some high school prospects with a team in the OT7 football league.
He was a studio analyst for Netflix’s Christmas Day doubleheader last year before Fox called a couple months later when Brock Huard decided to step away as an analyst.
“Being out and away from it showed me that the passion to do it never waned. Fox was the first place that I auditioned and immediately saw my ability both in the broadcast booth and also in studio. I wanted to make sure when I came over that I gave them my best foot forward,” he said.
Benetti will again be calling the game with Griffin on Sunday. Sarah Kustok will be part of the crew as the field reporter after Alexa Landestoy was the reporter during college football games.
Griffin and Benetti established quick chemistry from the first game despite not working together before.
“We teach football, we have fun, and we’re having conversations as if we’re just two guys at the bar knocking a couple back, having fun enjoying the game. And to me, that’s what makes it so fun. It does not feel like a job. It feels like we’re in our element of telling these guys stories the right way and getting to what the fans actually want to know about,” Griffin said. “Jason understands timing and when to get a story in and how to set up his analyst. And I work hard to ensure that no matter where Jason wants to go, I can go there with him.”
