About Christine Brennan

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By Chelsea Jordan and Melissa Katz

Christine Brennan was born in Toledo, Ohio. After earning her undergraduate (1980) and masters degrees (1981) from Northwestern, Brennan was hired by the Miami Herald as the newspaper’s first full-time woman sports reporter.

While in Miami, she covered the Florida Gators as well as the Miami Hurricanes during their 1983 National Championship season. After three and a half years, she left the Miami Herald in 1984 to work for the Washington Post. 

After earning her undergraduate (1980) and masters degrees (1981) from Northwestern, Brennan was hired by the Miami Herald as the newspaper’s first full-time woman sports reporter. While in Miami, she covered the Florida Gators as well as the Miami Hurricanes during their 1983 National Championship season. After three and a half years, she left the Miami Herald in 1984 to work for the Washington Post.

While at the Post, Brennan was assigned the Washington Redskin beat in 1984. She was the first woman to cover the Redskins and was around the team and in the lockerroom every day during the season.

She also was assigned the Olympics beat in ‘84 and has covered every Summer and Winter games since then, including the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal in 1994.

Brennan left The Post in 1996 and several years later joined USA Today as a columnist, breaking the news of the pairs figure skating scandal in 2002. Brennan has written three books on the sport including Inside Edge. 

In 1988 Christine was elected the first president of AWSM, Association of Women in Sports Media and established multiple internships and scholarships through the organization to help aspiring young female sports journalists. .

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