ESPN's Beth Mowins talks Penn State, and why she avoids social media
As Beth Mowins prepared to call Saturday's Penn State homecoming game against Indiana, she chatted with The Inquirer about the matchup and her career in sports journalism.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Beth Mowins always knew she wanted to do play-by-play commentary. An athlete herself, Mowins loved sports, and didn’t see a lot of women in sports media growing up.
On Friday, Mowins was in State College, preparing to call Penn State’s homecoming game against Indiana. Before heading to an afternoon meeting with the coaches, Mowins chatted about her career and Saturday’s matchup, which will be televised at noon on ESPN.
“I think it’s going to be a fascinating contrast between Indiana’s high-powered offense and Penn State’s defense,” Mowins said. The game won’t only prove a test for the Lions' strong defense, Mowins said, but could also be a big day for quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
Indiana's defense has allowed 337 passing yards per game, ranking second-to-last in the FBS, which could bode well for the strong-armed Hackenberg.
Mowins always has a lot of fun working in Happy Valley, she said. Over the years, she’s taken many trips to State College, most recently for the Penn State-Buffalo game, which aired on ESPN2 last month.
She joined ESPN in 1994, and since then, has remained enthusiastic about the many aspects of her job - even the minutia of preparing for games.
“I love all the details. One of my favorite things is the team boards, figuring out what’s important.” Mowins said. “And then certainly being on site" in the court or stadium.
Mowins worked hard to get where she is today in a male-dominated industry. In 2005, Mowins became the second female play-by-play broadcaster for a nationally televised college football game. She has called a wide range of sports, inlcuding women's soccer, softball, and men's and women's basketball. Just this August, she became the second woman ever to call an NFL game.
Mowins loves to see other women take on larger roles in sports media. This Tuesday, she watched as her good friend Jessica Mendoza called the American League wild-card game and became the first female analyst to announce a nationally televised Major League Baseball game in the post-season.
“That was fantastic,” Mowins said.
Mendoza’s performance received much praise, as well as some criticism on social media. Much of the criticism was aimed at the gender of the two-time Olympic medalist. The backlash included derogatory tweets from Atlanta radio host Mike Bell, who in one tweet called ESPN “cute” for having a former softball star call a baseball game. Bell’s string of tweets got him suspended indefinitely.
The backlash came after several other reporters, including the Chicago Tribune's Shannon Ryan, wrote about what women in sports journalism regularly face on social media.
Mowins said her years in the industry have taught her to resist reading such feedback on the Internet.
She used to go on Twitter more, she said, “early on in social media, when folks were trying to find their way. I try to avoid it now. I don’t need it now. My focus is going out and doing my job.”
Plus, she said, those who use social media as a platform to insult others - “their opinions really don’t matter.”
For aspiring sports journalists, Mowins stresses the importance of gaining myriad experiences. Find people who like you and will advocate for you in such a people-oriented profession, Mowins advises.
“Try and find experiences wherever you get can get them,” she said. And “remember it’s a people business. Make sure you’re getting out there and networking.”
For Mowins, the thrill she still gets from the job is evident in her upbeat personality, which showed even in the middle of a busy day of production meetings.
After more than two decades at ESPN, it was difficult for Mowins to pinpoint one aspect of her career she most enjoys.
Mowins put it simply: “I love it all.”