Ross Dellenger, a senior national writer covering college football for Sports Illustrated, announced on Monday that last week was his final one with the company.
He made the announcement on Twitter, where he seemingly thanked Ryan Hunt and Andy Staples, who he said he owes a great deal to, for taking a chance on him five years ago. Dellenger had been with Sports Illustrated since 2018 and lauded his time working alongside Pat Forde and Richard Johnson.
Personal news: Last week was my final one at Sports Illustrated. It’s been an awesome five years. I’ll greatly miss working alongside @ByPatForde & @RJ_Writes, and I owe an incredible amount to @rynhnt & @Andy_Staples, who brought me aboard in 2018.
What’s next? For now, bourbon pic.twitter.com/MfTo0FE98z
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 3, 2023
Dellenger has become a staple of college football coverage since coming over to SI from the Baton Rouge-based newspaper The Advocate where he previously covered LSU athletics for five years. It’s unclear at this moment if the decision was his or came from the outlet, but it’ll be interesting to see where he lands, considering how well-sourced he is and his propensity for breaking news in the college football landscape.
While Dellenger teased that his next venture will be drinking bourbon, the timing of the announcement is a bit curious, considering Staples, who recently departed from The Athletic, has now reemerged as a national college football host for On3. That’s not to say that Dellenger will also end up at On3 Sports, but it’ll be interesting to see where he’s going to resurface.
As news of Dellenger’s time with Sports Illustrated coming to an end trickled out, the sports media world shared their well-wishes and appreciation for the college football reporter.
Cheers to Ross on a great run at SI. Was incredible to watch him evolve into one of the very best national college sports reporters in the business. He deserves all the 🥃. https://t.co/aewGKjFvfK
— Ryan Hunt (@rynhnt) July 3, 2023
Wishing you the best in whatever is next, buddy.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) July 3, 2023
One of the best in the business! Looking forward to seeing what’s next.
— Jacob Hester (@JacobHester18) July 3, 2023
Looking forward to your next step.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) July 3, 2023
Cheers to @RossDellenger – one of the best reporters I know. https://t.co/x2mV62k22n
— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) July 3, 2023
Oh wow… didn’t expect this. You’ll be great wherever you go man. Enjoy the bourbon for now https://t.co/2e237Hen7R
— David Soderquist (@HightopDave) July 3, 2023
You've had a great run, Ross. Look forward to seeing where you land. https://t.co/CYVrIwajeL
— Matt Mosley (@mattmosley) July 3, 2023
Ross will be missed. A dogged reporter and talented writer who made our coverage better — and he could find a speakeasy in every city. At least I'll still be chopping it up with him and @DanWetzel on The Pod. https://t.co/amnaPPPKKt
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 3, 2023
It appears that Dellengeer will still be on Yahoo Sports! College Football Enquirer podcast with both Forde and Dan Wetzel moving forward. As for what’s next, in addition to that, remains to be seen.
