ESPN's Cohn Retires
ESPN Legend Linda Cohn Retires June 30 After Hosting Record 5,650+ SportsCenter Editions
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Key Points
1
Cohn's final SportsCenter appearances are scheduled for Friday, June 26, on the 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET editions.
2
Cohn began broadcasting in 1981 on Long Island as a radio news anchor, writer and sports reporter, years before she joined ESPN.
3
She joined ESPN in July 1992 and anchored her first SportsCenter edition on July 11, 1992.
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Cohn is a former collegiate ice hockey goalie, a detail highlighted as part of her varied sports-media background.
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She has hosted more than 5,650 editions of SportsCenter, the most in ESPN history, illustrating the scale of her tenure.
Linda Cohn is retiring from ESPN on June 30 after 34 years, ending the longest run as a SportsCenter anchor in the network's history. She hosted more than 5,650 editions of the show — more than anyone else — since anchoring her first at 2:00 a.m. ET on July 11, 1992, according to ESPN Press Room.
Her final on-air appearances are set for June 26 across three evening editions of SportsCenter — at 6 p.m., 10 p.m., and 11 p.m. ET — before her official last day on June 30, Laughing Place reported.
From Long Island Radio to 5,650 SportsCenter Editions
Cohn started her broadcasting career in 1981 on Long Island as a radio news anchor and sports reporter for WALK-AM/FM. In 1987, she made history as the first full-time female sports anchor on a national radio network, at ABC, according to the National Sports Media Association.
She joined ESPN in July 1992 and never slowed down. By February 2016, she became the first anchor to host 5,000 SportsCenter editions. That total has since grown to more than 5,650. She was inducted into the NSMA Hall of Fame in 2017. Off-camera, she was a collegiate ice hockey goalie at SUNY Oswego — a fact that followed her throughout her career, Barrett Media noted.
LA Production Shift Triggered Her Role Change and Exit
Cohn moved from Connecticut to Los Angeles in 2018 to anchor the late-night West Coast edition of SportsCenter and be closer to family. But in May 2025, ESPN moved that show's production back to its Bristol, Connecticut headquarters, according to Awful Announcing.
That shift left Cohn in a hybrid role that required constant cross-country travel. The two sides could not agree on a new arrangement. After 34 years, Awful Announcing reported, the toll of "cross-country flights and hotel beds" became too much. ESPN's move affected 35 Los Angeles employees in total, per Sports Business Journal.
ESPN Calls Her a Legend, Colleagues Say End of an Era
ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus paid tribute in an official statement. "Linda Cohn is a legend and a major part of the history of ESPN," he said. "She has brought enthusiasm, personality, and her love of sports to our audience for more than 30 years," according to Barrett Media.
Colleagues lined up to honor her. ESPN anchor Madelyn Burke said it was "the end of an era for one of the greatest to ever do it." Dick Vitale called her an "absolute legend." Anchors Kevin Negandhi, Nicole Briscoe, John Buccigross, and others will join Cohn on-air for her June 26 farewell, Laughing Place reported.
Cohn Eyes YouTube and a New Chapter Beyond ESPN
Cohn is not walking away from sports entirely. She launched a YouTube channel — @lindacohnsports — and on June 1, 2026, teased on social media that she had "a lot to say," signaling a move into independent content, similar to former ESPN anchors Neil Everett and Stan Verrett, Awful Announcing reported.
In her farewell statement, Cohn pointed to a bigger legacy than her record. "What I'm most proud of is that my career lasted long enough for me to see little girls grow up watching SportsCenter, enter this business, and succeed in it," she said, according to ESPN Press Room. Her exit leaves Mike Greenberg and Scott Van Pelt among the few remaining household names from ESPN's 1990s era.
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