Cari Champion Announces Her Departure From ESPN After 7 Years: It’s Time For Me To Leave

Cari Champion Announces Her Departure From ESPN After Seven Years

ESPN host, Cari Champion, 41, made an abrupt announcement on Thursday (Jan. 9th), announcing that after speaking with close friends and family, she’s set to leave the network after nearly a decade. She writes,

Soon after Cari’s reveal, the ESPN network released a statement on her departure and their plans to move forward with programming,

“With Cari Champion’s pending departure, the noon ET SportsCenter will no longer be a bicoastal show and instead will originate completely from Bristol, Conn., with Elle Duncan and Matt Barrie helming the newly-expanded 90-minute Monday-Thursday episodes.”

Cari first joined ESPN from the Tennis Channel in 2012 and started as the host of “First Take,” moderating hot-take debates between Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless. 

Cari then moved on to replace host Michelle Beadle on the now-canceled “SportsNation.” She has hosted “SportsCenter” since 2015, most recently working on the midday broadcast alongside David Lloyd.

In addition, Cari, signed a multi-year extension in 2016 and was also hosting “Sports Nation.” The former ESPN host did not reveal any future position in her transition away from the network.