Longtime ESPN broadcaster Pam Ward retires after nearly 30 years with network

A pioneer in sports broadcasting, Pam Ward has decided to hang it up at ESPN after nearly 30 years with the network.

ESPN revealed Ward’s decision on Tuesday, sharing a video featuring many of her colleagues and peers including women’s basketball analysts Tamika Catchings, LaChina Robinson, Rebecca Lobo, and Carolyn Peck, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White, reporter Holly Rowe, and softball analyst Jenny Dalton-Hill.

Pam Ward recently retired from ESPN after nearly 30 years with the company

A salute & thank you to Ward – whose pioneering career started on ESPNEWS in 1996 & included play-by-play & host roles across #NCAAWBB, #NCAASoftball, @ESPNCFB, #WNBA & more pic.twitter.com/FioSybTf5r

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) December 23, 2025

Ward began her career at ESPNEWS in 1996 and finished her career as a play-by-play commentator on ESPN’s women’s basketball coverage — both WNBA and college — along with the network’s college softball broadcasts.

Throughout her nearly three decades with the Worldwide Leader, Ward did a little bit of everything. For 11 seasons from 2001-2011, Ward was a mainstay of ESPN’s college football coverage, calling a regular package of games. She has hosted studio programming including NBA 2Night, NHL 2Night, NFL Tonight, WNBA Shootaround, and NBA Today. On radio, she hosted ESPN’s NFL shoulder programming along with MLB pre- and post-game shows. At the beginning of her tenure at ESPN, Ward even did a little bit of sideline reporting during college football broadcasts. During the 1996 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, she served as an analyst for select games.

One would be hard-pressed to find someone else at ESPN with quite the breadth of assignments as Ward has had over her career.

Prior to joining ESPN, Ward worked for WBAL Radio in Baltimore, hosting pregame coverage for the Ravens on Sundays and serving as a fill-in sports anchor for the television station. Before that, she worked at WTEM Radio in Washington, D.C.

While her career at ESPN has come to an end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ward pop up elsewhere for networks that need a veteran voice. But it is safe to say, ESPN’s coverage of women’s basketball and college softball will feel a bit different now that Ward is leaving the Worldwide Leader.