‘My parents raised a point guard’

ESPN’s Beth Mowins looks at play-by-play career through leadership lens

by Hallie Hart

Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images

Beth Mowins doubled as an athlete and a sports announcer during childhood games with her friends and three brothers.

If the kids gathered to play sports in their Syracuse, New York, neighborhood, then Mowins often came prepared with a tape recorder and a microphone. Starting when she was about 8, she loved to bring game stories to life with her words, whether she was describing plays while she sat in the crowd at Orange basketball games or providing commentary while she tuned in to TV broadcasts.

“It wasn’t really a decision of what I wanted to do,” Mowins said. “It was more how I could achieve it.”

As Mowins was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, few women held sports announcing jobs, but a lack of female predecessors in the play-by-play business couldn’t deter her from devoting herself to her ideal career. Now, it is becoming increasingly common to hear women’s voices on sports broadcasts, and ESPN’s Mowins is one of the pioneers who has ushered in this change.  

In 2017, she made history as the first female play-by-play announcer for an NFL game on national television. More recently, in January, she called play-by-play for a women’s basketball game between Syracuse and Georgia Tech, taking part in the ACC Network’s first broadcast that featured women in all major roles.

As part of that ACC production, Mowins, once an ambitious little girl with few women to inspire her as role models in the sports industry, was collaborating with female directors, producers and halftime show hosts. As she called the game in the Carrier Dome, she sat beside color analyst Isis Young, a former Orange guard and up-and-coming sports broadcaster.

Mowins has always gravitated toward leadership positions, and this is where her driven mindset has taken her.

Before obtaining a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse, Mowins was a point guard on the women’s basketball team at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Although she hasn’t played college hoops since the late ‘80s, her approach on the court continues to influence her professional life.

“I like to say my parents raised a point guard,” Mowins said. “And that’s what I was from a very early age. The responsibility of that role is to try and make everybody around you better and to want to make big decisions, want the ball in your hands with the game on the line, and that’s the same kind of mentality of a good leader.”

As a kid, Mowins recognized she couldn’t be a follower who modeled her game calls after someone else’s sound. She learned about broadcasting techniques and sports jargon when she listened to the giants of the sports media world, from Pat Summerall to Vin Scully to Keith Jackson, but she also analyzed recordings of herself so she could polish her own voice. Her gender alone would make her stand out, so she embraced the chance to craft a signature style.

Although men filled most broadcasting positions — Mowins’ childhood microphone was a popular product that even had the masculine name of “Mr. Microphone” — one woman on TV caught her attention.

Each Sunday, she saw Phyllis George co-hosting “The NFL Today” on CBS. Although George wasn’t calling play-by-play for NFL games, her visible role made Mowins realize it was possible for a woman to work in the sports media industry.

It would take constant preparation, but Mowins was up for the challenge.

“I’d have my recorder and my microphone everywhere I went,” Mowins said. “Or (I) was writing things down on a pad of paper everywhere I went just to pick up little nuances or little things that I could do differently or do better.”

To break into the business, Mowins had to know about much more than play-by-play announcing. At a small-market radio station, she worked as news director and sports director, and she kept listeners up-to-date with alternative hits as a morning DJ. 

“I like to say, ‘Know a little bit about a lot,’” Mowins said. “Because you may have to cover news; you may have to cover entertainment or politics while you’re working on whatever exactly it is that you want to do long term.”

Mowins’ versatility worked in her favor, propelling her into roles that allowed her to reach audiences much larger than groups of local radio listeners. When the Denver Broncos opened their 2017 season against the Los Angeles Chargers, Mowins was on the call.

The Broncos won after they blocked a field goal attempt to stop the Chargers from tying the game with one second on the clock, and it was also a victory for women in the sports industry. Mowins had become the first female play-by-play commentator for an NFL game on national TV.

“I think what stands out is the fact that we got exactly what we wanted, which was a close game with a fantastic finish,” Mowins said.

Although not every game has a thrilling ending for Mowins to narrate, her enthusiasm for broadcasting is constant. Despite her calm and collected tone on the microphone, Mowins thrives on adrenaline.

“I would be concerned if I wasn’t nervous or wasn’t a little bit excited before a game because that means it’s still special, and it’s still something that I love to do and am passionate about,” Mowins said.

Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images

Monday Night Football games aren’t the only events that give her this sense of fulfillment. Mowins has regularly covered the annual Women’s College World Series, announced play-by-play at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany and even provided commentary for dog shows. Regardless of whether Mowins needs to know about fluffy, four-legged competitors or rivalries between college softball teams, research is a vital component of her job.

Some events require more preparation than others. Mowins said she might spend about 50-60 hours gathering information leading up to one college football game, and the work is evident in her neatly organized game boards. Color-coded boxes contain facts about each player, from statistics to quirky details she could use to enhance a broadcast.

“As play-by-play announcers, we love comparing boards with one another, and seeing … how unique, really, everyone’s game board is,” Mowins said.

Many sportscasters build game boards with digital software such as Word or Excel, but Mowins handwrites everything. It’s another part of her distinctive style, showing that she continues to stay true to herself just as she did as a chatty, sports-obsessed child in New York.

Although Mowins couldn’t announce WCWS games this season because they were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, she looks forward to future broadcasting opportunities as leagues return to competition. She is also seeing other women blaze their paths in the sportscasting world. Melanie Newman recently became the first woman to announce play-by-play for the Baltimore Orioles during the regular season, and Mowins said she knows of several female Minor League Baseball announcers who are making names for themselves.

Young girls might sometimes shy away from traditionally male leadership positions such as play-by-play commentating, but this is evolving, Mowins said. She theorized that one reason women and girls are gaining interest in these jobs is because the number of female athletes has increased with Title IX, and some of them want to pursue careers that will keep them connected to the sports world.

Mowins also emphasized the importance of aspiring sportscasters seeing women in the industry. To a young girl who has visions of calling a Monday Night Football game, Mowins could be the role model who shows that the dream is possible, just as Phyllis George did for Mowins. It’s part of Mowins’ point guard leadership: elevating those around her and giving other women the confidence that they can achieve what she has done.

“I think a big part of it is you have to see it to believe it or to dream it,” Mowins said. “And so I think with more and more women sportscasters, (to) a lot of younger girls growing up, it’s not out of the ordinary. It’s a common thing to see women calling games, so if that’s what they decide they want to do, it’s not that big of a stretch for them to go ahead and pursue that opportunity.”