Spotlight: Andy Katz

College Sports (Miscellaneous)

Spotlight: Andy Katz

Photo of Rachel Margolis Siegal Rachel Margolis Siegal Follow on Twitter November 1, 2011

A jack of all trades, well, basketball trades at least – ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz has become a leading source for college basketball news and information on ESPN networks, online and Twitter. And in case ESPN ever needs an expert on Soviet and Eastern European studies, he would be happy to lead that panel as well.

You earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science with a minor in Soviet and Eastern European studies, very unique for a basketball reporter. Was basketball reporting always the goal?
No, I was focused on being a journalist, regardless of sport. I initially covered football and hockey as much as basketball.

If you hadn’t become a sports journalist, what would you have pursued?
I was interested in political coverage and still am with that being my passion outside of sports. I read as much about political and international coverage as I do sports on a daily basis.

I flirted with the idea of going into the Navy to pursue some sort of work in relation to my studies on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as it was breaking up. I went into the recruiting office, but never went further than one visit. The running joke, now, is that I can’t keep a secret so how could I have worked in that field?

A senior writer for ESPN.com you can often be found on the TV screen, in addition to the computer screen. What attracted you to the TV side of reporting? Is there one medium you prefer more?
I’m based at ESPN.com and that’s my anchor, but I am ESPN’s college basketball reporter, working for all entities. I’ve morphed into plenty of different roles from reporter to analyst to host at times. I also love working on Outside the Lines and any chance I get to do a piece I jump at it… It’s my favorite show we produce at ESPN.

I’ve always believed that we don’t need labels. We all work for ESPN and we’re all on the same team. I would never want to shed the writing aspect of what I do.

What storyline in the world of college basketball most interests you for the upcoming season?
Kentucky and Connecticut. The Wildcats will try to incorporate (and win a title) with plenty of freshmen again. UConn is the defending champ and has more talent than a year ago, but don’t have Kemba Walker.

You have over 100,000 followers on twitter, but who do you follow and why?
I follow schools, coaches, a few players, sports reporters and plenty of news/political reporters from a number of different networks.

Photo of Rachel Margolis Siegal Rachel Margolis Siegal Follow on Twitter November 1, 2011
Photo of Rachel Margolis Siegal

Rachel Margolis Siegal

A part of the Internal Communications team at ESPN, I began with the network in 2010 as part of the College Sports PR team. Always an avid sports fan and not an athlete – I grew up a huge fan of the Hartford Whalers, while also watching my brother compete at different levels. I became the manager of several high school sports teams and continued that hobby into college. While at Quinnipiac, I worked in the Sports Information Department, which led me to a summer internship at the New Haven Ravens, a AA baseball team, and an eventual job with the Athletic Communications Department at the University of Connecticut. After my five-year stint at Connecticut, I spent six years as Director of Communications at the BIG EAST Conference in Providence, R.I. before joining ESPN.
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