Kris Budden

Last updated
Kris Budden
2024-0106-Kris Budden.jpg
Budden in 2024
Born (1984-03-09) March 9, 1984 (age 40)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Education Broadcast journalism degree, Missouri School of Journalism
Alma mater University of Missouri
OccupationSports commentator
Years active2007-present
Employer ESPN
Spouse
Mario Toledo
​
(m. 2014)​
Website www.krisbudden.com

Kristen Lee "Kris" Budden (born March 9, 1984) is an American sports reporter currently working for ESPN. Budden is known for reporting on the San Diego Padres as well as being a current sideline reporter for college football and college basketball.

Contents

Background

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 9, 1984, Budden moved with her family at age 10 to Dallas, Texas. As a teenager, she shadowed her godfather at his anchor job at WFAA. She attended Trinity Christian Academy, in the Dallas suburb of Addison, where she was a two-time state champion with the school's tennis team. She went on to graduate with honors from University of Missouri's School of Journalism with a broadcast journalism degree. [1] [2]

Career

Budden's first job was as a weekend sports anchor at WCAV in Charlottesville, Virginia. Within 18 months, she moved to WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee, to work as both a sports anchor and reporter covering the Tennessee Volunteers' athletics programs. Over the course of six years, Budden covered the men's and women's NCAA and SEC basketball tournaments, the 2012 Summer Olympics and Pat Summitt's retirement. At WBIR, Budden received the Tennessee Associated Press Broadcasters' award for Best Breaking Sports News and posted four consecutive second-place finishes in the Best Sports Feature category. [1]

In August 2013, Budden moved to San Diego, California, after accepting a position with Fox Sports. She was, at first, a part of the Fox NFL broadcast crew. In March 2014, she became the sideline reporter for the Padres broadcasts and a fill-in host for the team's pre- and post-game shows. Prior to the 2014 NCAA college football season, she began coverage, mainly as a sideline reporter, for Fox Sports. [1]

Personal life

Budden is married to Mario Toledo, who was a member of the University of Tennessee men's tennis team from 2000 to 2002. [1] They met in 2012, when she took a lesson from him at a Knoxville racquet club. They were married in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 2014. [3] During Budden's career covering the Padres, Toledo got a job as the assistant tennis coach at Pepperdine University. The couple then moved to Los Angeles, and she switched to covering college football. [4] She has two kids and is based in Frisco, Texas. [5] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Bernstein</span> American sports journalist and executive

Bonnie Lynn Bernstein is an American sports journalist and media executive. She has been named one of the most accomplished female sportscasters in history by the American Sportscasters Association, spending nearly 20 years as a reporter and studio host at ESPN, ABC and CBS Sports, covering the NFL, NBA, MLB and college football and basketball. Bernstein is currently the founder and CEO of Walk Swiftly Productions, a multimedia production company specializing in non-scripted sports and entertainment content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzy Kolber</span> American football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster

Suzy Kolber is an American football sideline reporter, co-producer, and a former ESPN sports anchor and reporter. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but returned to ESPN in late 1999. In 2023, she and several other ESPN employees were terminated by the network in what was described as a cost-cutting measure.

Tiffany "Jill" Arrington is an American sportscaster and reporter. She previously was a sports anchor at KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles for three years. Before that, she was in the same position at Fox Sports 1 and Fox SportsNet for five years, after being a sideline reporter on college football for ESPN during the 2004 college football season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WATE-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee

WATE-TV is a television station in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located in the Greystone mansion on North Broadway/SR 33/SR 71/US 441, and its transmitter is located on Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville.

Jeanne Zelasko is an American journalist and sportscaster who worked for "The Beast" AM980 KFWB and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles County, California. Prior to taking that position Zelasko had a relatively lengthy career working for Fox Sports as a reporter and analyst for various programs, as well as reporting for MLB Network, ESPN and as the court reporter on Judge Joe Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris McKendry</span> American sportscaster

Chris McKendry is a journalist for ESPN, a role she has served since 1996. McKendry worked as a long-time anchor on Sportscenter. She serves as full-time on-site host for ESPN tennis coverage of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Oliver</span> American sportscaster

Pam Oliver is an American sportscaster known for her work on the sidelines for various National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Jones</span> American reporter

Emily Jones McCoy is a television anchor and reporter for Bally Sports Southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Rowe</span> American sports announcer

Holly Rowe is an American sports telecaster for the ESPN sports television network, as a sideline reporter for college football and basketball games. Rowe made Utah Jazz history on October 22, 2021, as the team's first female color commentator in a game against the Sacramento Kings

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Ponder</span> American sportscaster

Samantha Ponder is an American sportscaster who is the host of Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN. Prior to hosting Sunday NFL Countdown, Ponder worked as a reporter/host for ESPN college football and as a basketball sideline reporter. Ponder replaced Erin Andrews on College GameDay Saturdays at 10 AM ET on ESPN, as well as co-host of the Saturday 9 AM ET edition on ESPNU. In addition to her duties on College Gameday, Ponder had been the regular sideline reporter for ESPN's Thursday Night College Football with Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, and David Pollack from August 2012 until 2014. Ponder also appeared on the ESPN-owned Texas-oriented regional network Longhorn Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports San Diego</span> American regional sports network

Bally Sports San Diego was an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Prior to the team parting ways with the network in 2023, the San Diego Padres owned a 20% stake. It was launched on March 17, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Rutledge</span> Reporter for ESPN and SEC network

Laura Rutledge is an American reporter and host for ESPN and the SEC Network. She is an American beauty pageant titleholder from St. Petersburg, Florida, who was named Miss Florida 2012.

Alison Kosik is an American journalist and was a former CNN business correspondent who covered the New York Stock Exchange. She is a freelance anchor and correspondent at ABC News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly McGrath</span> American sportscaster and studio host

Molly Anne McGrath is a Sports Emmy nominated American sportscaster and studio host who works as a sideline reporter for ESPN’s college football and college basketball telecasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jen Hale</span> American sports reporter

Jennifer Hale is an American journalist working for Fox Sports as an NFL sideline reporter where she is currently paired with Chris Myers and Robert Smith. She also covers NBA's New Orleans Pelicans for Bally Sports New Orleans and also covers college football for Fox Sports. She was a substitute host on the Fox Sports 1 shows Skip and Shannon: Undisputed and Lock It In before becoming the full-time moderator for Undisputed in 2022 to 2023. She has covered The Basketball Tournament for ESPN as well as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. She also worked as a sideline reporter for TNT's coverage of the first round of the 2017 NBA playoffs.

Taylor Rooks is an American sports journalist and broadcaster. She currently appears on Thursday Night Football, Bleacher Report and Turner Sports. Before joining the Turner networks, she was a host, reporter, and correspondent at SportsNet New York. Prior to the New York Market, she worked for the Big Ten Network. She appeared on BTN Live, BTN Football Pregame, and Women's Sports Report. She was a sideline reporter for CBS Sports Network for the 2016-2017 football season. Prior to SNY, CBS, and BTN, Rooks was a football and basketball recruiting reporter for scout.com. She has an on-air presence for major events, such as the Big Ten Football Championship.

Megan Olivi is an American mixed martial arts news/events reporter who hosts UFC Ultimate Insider on Fox Sports 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leila Rahimi</span> American television sports reporter

Leila Rahimi is an American television sports anchor and reporter.

Kelly Ann Crull is an American sportscaster and television personality, who has been a digital and on-air contributor for the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Braves, and Atlanta Hawks. She has also worked for Fox Sports and NBC Sports Chicago.

Jane Slater is an American journalist, who works as a reporter for the NFL Network. Slater is based in Dallas, Texas, and mainly reports on the Dallas Cowboys but has also covered the New Orleans Saints and the Tennessee Titans. She has made other appearances on NFL Network including as fill-in host for Good Morning Football.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "On Air: Kris Budden". foxsports.com. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Kris Budden: About Me". krisbudden.com. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Real Weddings: Kris + Mario Keep Perspective While Planning From Afar". bridentitycrisis.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Kris Budden announces tonight is her last game with the Padres". gaslampball.com. October 1, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  6. ↑ Studio, T. M. (2022-11-04). "Electric Women". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.