Betsy Ross
Some people might hesitate at volunteering for something new and untested, but not Betsy Ross.
Her willingness to think out of the box and get beyond her comfort zone led to her becoming the first woman to report sports stories on a Cincinnati television station. Plus, she was one of the first women to break into national sports news.
She’s set a high standard for women in both broadcasting and business.
Opportunity knocked and she answered the door.
Ross’ journey began after graduation from Indiana’s Connorsville High School in 1968, followed by a journalism degree at Ball State University and graduate school at Notre Dame University.
Luckily, WNDU, the NBC affiliate in South Bend, was located on Notre Dame’s campus. It was a hands-on laboratory for students to learn from professionals who served as adjunct professors.
That created a skill set that put her on the path to stardom.
But that wasn’t enough for Ross. She also worked on the copy desk and as a reporter for the South Bend Tribune.
That tenacity and experience landed her a job in 1978 as a morning anchor and news reporter for WSVJ, the ABC affiliate in South Bend.
But Ross wanted to work in the Cincinnati market. So, she sent resumes to all the television stations. WCPO-TV’s legendary newsman Al Schottelkotte called Ross’ mother trying to get hold of her, they connected and she was hired as a morning show producer and fill-in anchor in 1980.
That was good, but it wasn’t enough for Ross. She wanted to do sports reports. Knowing the sports departments often needed help, the volunteered her services to Sports Director John Popovich. It was a match made in heaven.
Ross’ first assignment was covering the LPGA Championships held at Kings Island when Nancy Lopez was at the top of her game. She soon was paired with Mike Binkley on the weekend anchor desk and reported three days a week,
But she continued to volunteer for sports assignments and the variety of stories she handled came in handy at her next stop in 1987 — Indianapolis’ WTHR. Much of what the station did was sports coverage, since the city is a hotbed of amateur sports organizations and teams.
Three years later, New York came calling and she moved into the anchor chair at SportsChannel America for their version of ESPN’s SportsCenter.
It was back to Cincinnati in 1991, this time at WLWT-TV for six years, not as a sports reporter, but as a morning anchor and fill-in for sports. She covered the 1996 Presidential Election and Inauguration and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and Olympic trials.
Ross’ next move was a big leap into full-time sports at ESPN in 1997 as the anchor for ESPN News and SportsCenter Weekend in Bristol, Connecticut.
It was there she was witness to one of the nation’s biggest stories: the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Ross was at the anchor desk for over eight hours across all platforms. As the day went on, the focus shifted to sports coverage. The National Football League and Major League Baseball cancelled games. Colleges and universities did the same. When games, resumed in New York, the first game at Yankee Stadium helped to heal the nation.
Ross returned to the Queen City in 2002 to start the sports and entertainment firm Game Day Communications. One of the company’s early assignments was helping Flying Pig Marathon Director Iris Simpson manage and grow the race, which was then in its infancy. She also works for WXIX-TV part-time filling in on weekends and helping out where needed.
She won a regional Emmy® in 2014 for her work on the broadcast of the Lauren Hill Mt. St. Joseph-Hilliard College basketball game at Xavier University.
Ross gives back as well, teaching at the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University and Indiana University. She handles public address announcing for University of Cincinnati women’s basketball, soccer and lacrosse.
“People gave me a break in the early years covering college and high school football,” she said. “I cut my teeth on that. They gave me a chance.”
She hasn’t looked back.