Longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn retiring after 34 years

The prolific anchor announced Monday that June 30 will be her last day after she covers the NHL draft with fellow longtime co-host John Buccigross.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jun 22, 2026, 6:25 PM

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ESPN anchor Linda Cohn speaks at the Paley Prize Gala honoring ESPN's 35th anniversary on May 28, 2014 in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Paley Center for Media)

(Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Paley Center for Media)

NEW YORK (AP) — Linda Cohn, who has hosted more episodes of “SportsCenter” than anyone, is retiring after 34 years at ESPN.

The prolific anchor announced Monday that June 30 will be her last day after she covers the NHL Draft with fellow longtime co-host John Buccigross.

Cohn has hosted more than 5,500 editions of “SportsCenter.” She will make her final appearances at 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET Friday.

“Linda Cohn is a legend and a major part of the history of ESPN,” ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said in a statement. “She has brought enthusiasm, personality and her love of sports to our audience for more than 30 years and her contributions to ESPN both in front of and behind the camera would make a very long list. We wish her all the best in her retirement and sincerely thank her.”

Cohn started her career in Patchogue, New York, as a news anchor, writer and sports reporter at WALK-AM/FM in 1981. She was a local sports anchor and reporter at KIRO 7 in Seattle from 1989-92, started at ESPN in Bristol in 1992 and moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to co-host the 1 a.m. “SportsCenter.” She’s been working on special projects since that show was moved back to Bristol in 2025.

Cohn returned to Seattle in 2024 to host TV broadcasts for the NHL’s Kraken.

“What I’m most proud of is that my career lasted long enough for me to see little girls grow up watching SportsCenter, enter this business and succeed in it,” Cohn said in a statement.

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