For the last six years, Hall of Fame guard Sue Bird and future Hall of Fame guard Diana Taurasi’s joint alternative broadcast has been a staple of ESPN’s women’s Final Four coverage.
Per ESPN, that era has ended. At a press conference looking ahead to this year’s women’s Final Four in Phoenix, ESPN senior vice president Meg Aronowitz announced that Bird and Taurasi would not appear on an altcast this year.
“We are reimagining what we call our alternate telecast,” Aronowitz said. “It has been Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi for the last six years, and we are grateful for them and our time with us. But we are going to reimagine and rethink how we bring the viewer that alternate telecast.”
Bird and Taurasi played together collegiately for UConn and internationally for the United States. They are two of the most decorated players in the history of women’s basketball, with a combined haul of five national championships, five All-America appearances, seven WNBA titles, 22 All-WNBA appearances and 11 Olympic gold medals.
Their on-screen camaraderie made their altcast an instant hit when it was introduced in 2019, and it rode women’s basketball’s post-pandemic growth to superb ratings—including, as Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing noted Tuesday, an audience of 1.4 million during the 2024 national championship between Iowa and South Carolina.
More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
- Mark Pope Fined for His Suspiciously Loud Hot-Mic Officiating Moment
- ESPN’s Jay Bilas Unloads On Coaches Over Poor Press Conference Behavior
- Wake Forest's Steve Forbes Receives Vote of Confidence, Will Likely Return Next Season
- "We ain't playing to lose, man" - Miami University Head Coach Travis Steele
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi to End Joint Final Four Broadcast After Six Years.
