Michele Tafoya
Michele Joan Tafoya Vandersall, (born December 17, 1964) is a former American sportscaster. From 2011 to 2022, she was a reporter for NBC Sports, primarily as a sideline reporter for "NBC Sunday Night Football". Early life. Tafoya attended Mira Costa High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1991. Career. Tafoya worked as a host and reporter for KFAN-AM in Minneapolis, primarily for Minnesota Vikings and University of Minnesota women 's basketball broadcasts. She worked for WAQS-AM in Charlotte, where she went by the name Mickey Conley. Conley is her mother's maiden name. Tafoya also worked for the Midwest Sports Channel, serving as a Minnesota Timberwolves host and sideline reporter, as well as a play-by-play commentator for women's Big Ten basketball and volleyball. Tafoya then spent three years at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis as a sports anchor and reporter. CBS Sports. Tafoya joined CBS Sports in September 1994 as a reporter and host for the CBS Television Network's sports anthology show "CBS Sports Spectacular  and college basketball coverage. She served as a host of At The Half" and as a reporter for college football games. She made her on-air debut at the 1994 U.S. Open Tennis Championships. In 1997, The American Women in Radio and Television honored Tafoya with a Gracie Award for "Outstanding Achievement by an Individual On-Air TV Personality" for her play-by-play calling of WNBA games on Lifetime Television. Tafoya served as a reporter for the network's coverage of the NFL, college football – including the 1998 National Championship Orange Bowl – and was late-night co-host with  Al Trautwig of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. In addition to her diverse assignments, Tafoya hosted CBS's NCAA Tournament selection show, Goodwill Games and the U.S Open Tennis Championships coverage. She left CBS at the end of 1999, after five years with the network. ABC Sports and ESPN. Tafoya joined ESPN and ABC Sports in January 2000, working as a sideline reporter for ABC Sports' "Monday Night Football" during the 2004 NFL season and the 2005 NFL season before the program shifted to ESPN; she worked the sideline for "ESPN Monday Night Football" beginning in 2006. Tafoya was  a co-host for the "Mike Tirico Show" on ESPN radio. She helped ABC in their coverage of Super Bowl XL in Detroit as a sideline reporter with Suzy Kolber. She was loaned to NBC Sports for the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a Reporter for Rhythmic Gymnastics and as the play-by-play woman for softball. On October 10, 2003, Tafoya purposely poured beer over two fans beneath her luxury box at the Metrodome during a University of Minnesota versus University of Michigan game. Tafoya admitted to losing her composure and said she was embarrassed over the incident. She also  issued a public apology. Tafoya formerly worked at NBA games on ABC and ESPN. On October 21, 2008, she announced she would be resigning from her duties as head NBA sideline reporter. Tafoya's other previous roles included a stint as the men's and women's NCAA basketball play-by-play and studio host, and as a college football and basketball sideline reporter. She also has served as a substitute host on "Pardon the Interruption" and as a panelist on "The Sports Reporters II". Her other ESPN assignments have included calling WNBA games, also hosting skiing telecasts and working  on ESPN's college basketball selection shows as a reporter. She also was a correspondent for "SportsCenter" and "Outside the Lines". In 2006, the Davie-Brown Index ranked Tafoya among the most likable TV sports personalities, including Biggest Trend-Setter. At the end of the 2010-2011 NFL season, she left ESPN for NBC Sports. Return to WCCO. Tafoya was announced as the new evening drive time talk radio host for WCCO-AM on April 20, 2009. Her show began on June 1, 2009, and ended on January 27, 2012. KQRS Radio. Tafoya joined "The KQ Morning Show" on KQRS -FM as co-host with long-time KQ morning personality Tom Barnard on September 8, 2016. NBC Sports. On May 4, 2011, Tafoya was announced as the new sideline reporter for "NBC Sunday Night Football", replacing Andrea Kremer and rejoining former co-worker and announcer, Al Michaels. Tafoya has also covered swimming during the Summer Olympics for NBC. Andrew Marchand of the "New York Post" reported that Tafoya would leave "Sunday Night Football" following the 2021 season. On January 11, 2022, NBC confirmed in a press release that Tafoya would depart the network, with Super Bowl LVI her final assignment , to pursue other opportunities. Politics. On February 14, 2022, a day after her departure from NBC Sports, Republican Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls announced Tafoya would be joining his campaign as co-chair. Personal life. Tafoya and husband Mark Vandersall have a son and a daughter. The family lives in Edina, Minnesota. In 2007, she told WCCO-TV that she had been struggling with an eating disorder since she was a child. Tafoya describes herself as a "'pro-choice' conservative with libertarian leanings".