Andy Staples, a senior writer and podcast host covering college football for The Athletic, announced on Friday that this was his last day with the New York Times-owned property.
He made the announcement during the intro of the latest (and presumably final?) episode of The Andy Staples Show, which he was co-hosting with Max Olson.
“It was a fun show with me and Max. Unfortunately, it was also my last show here at The Athletic,” said Staples. “I am moving on, gonna take a few weeks off and then I will reemerge somewhere else. But I just wanted to say thanks to everybody at The Athletic for letting me do this and have this platform and letting me write stories and just being incredible teammates and coworkers. Everybody at the company has been wonderful to me. I can’t thank everybody enough.
“Don’t worry you will be able to hear my nasal-y voice again. Like Primetime, I am not hard to find. You will find me again..not long.”
Wishing you the absolute best landing spot @Andy_Staples. Excited to see what comes next. https://t.co/WRpviSJfdR pic.twitter.com/iQ04LYqk8H
— Scott (@mediumbumble) May 26, 2023
At the end of the podcast episode, he reiterated the news and that he won’t be gone for very long.
“There’s no easy way to say this. This is my last show at The Athletic,” said Staples. “It has been a pleasure. I’m not going away. I will be back at some point.
“I did want to say thank you to everyone at The Athletic. Wonderful teammates and coworkers. It has been an absolute joy to work with them…I just really enjoyed my time there.”
Staples joined The Athletic in 2019 after 11 years with Sports Illustrated.
For lack of a better term, Staples has become a staple of college football coverage over the past two decades, so it will certainly be interesting to find out where he’s going to resurface. It’s unclear at this moment if the decision was his or came from the outlet, which has been dealing with high operating losses since being acquired.
As news of Staples’ final day with The Athletic trickled out, the sports media world share their well-wishes and appreciation for the college football reporter.
Congratulations to @Andy_Staples on a heck of a run with @TheAthleticCFB.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) May 26, 2023
Man, Andy Staples leaving The Athletic is a HUGE blow to its college football coverage.
I get that The New York Times is in cost-cutting mode to make The Athletic profitable, but if all the best people leave, no one will want to subscribe anymore!
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) May 26, 2023
I can’t describe how sad I am that @Andy_Staples last pod for The Athletic wasn’t one with @AriWasserman. Excited to see that’s next, but football season won’t be the same 😞
— Bobby Lord (@bobbyc_lord) May 26, 2023
