espnW has re-signed versatile writer and commentator Kate Fagan to a new multiyear agreement, which will keep yet another of the brand’s core voices in its ranks. Fagan will continue in her role as a featured reporter and columnist for espnW on multiple ESPN platforms including espnW.com, ESPN TV – including Around the Horn, First Take, His & Hers and others — and she adds two new national ESPN Radio shows to her resume.
Fagan will host the new ESPN Radio show, Will & Kate, with ESPN contributor Will Cain, which will launch Sunday, February 15. The program, airing Sundays from 7 – 10 a.m. ET, will take an intellectual look at topical societal issues in sports by hosts who often find their opinions to be at opposite sides of the spectrum.
She is also the co-host of espnW’s The Trifecta with Spain, Jane and Kate on ESPN Radio, which debuted January 9 (airing noon – 3 p.m.), alongside fellow espnW writers Jane McManus and Sarah Spain. The show capitalizes on the trio’s chemistry as they discuss the key stories in sports and across society with a distinct perspective that only espnW can provide.
“Kate is a tremendous talent who embodies the W ethos – smart, engaging, thought-provoking,” said Alison Overholt, editor-in-chief, espnW. “She has helped shape the espnW voice with her deep reporting and powerful storytelling, and has emerged as a leading voice, thanks to her insightful, layered commentary on issues across sports and society.”
“I’m really excited to be back with ESPN, and specifically back with espnW, a place whose mission directly aligns with my passions, and with the kinds of stories I like to tell,” said Fagan. “Jane, Sarah and I all get along so well, which makes The Trifecta an interesting listen, and I think the show with Will has the ability to take listeners to new places, because we both bring such different perspectives.”
Fagan is the third espnW contributor to re-sign, with the business retaining primary voice Julie Foudy and espnW original Jane McManus in 2015. Fagan joined ESPN in 2012 and has been a columnist and feature writer for espnW, and her stories have also appeared on ESPN.com andESPN The Magazine. She is a regular panelist on ESPN’s Around the Horn, contributes to The Sports Reporters, First Take and other shows.
She has written several in-depth profiles that have generated media and social buzz, including an ESPN The Magazine story on U.S. Women’s National Team star Abby Wambach, a breaking-news interview with Derrick Gordon, the first openly gay player in NCAA Division I men’s basketball and a poignant look at Madison Holleran, a University of Pennsylvania track and field athlete who died by suicide. Fagan is now writing a book based on that profile, which is slated for release in May 2017.
Previously, Fagan spent three seasons covering the Philadelphia 76ers for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Prior to that, she was also a sports writer for The Glen Falls Post-Star and the sports editor of The Ellensburg Daily Record. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and played on the women’s basketball team from 1999-2004.