- ESPN sports journalist Holly Rowe will deliver the keynote address at the University of Utah's 2025 general commencement on May 1.
- Rowe is a graduate of the University of Utah and has plied her trade at several local media outlets.
- Currently in cancer treatment, Rowe is an advocate for cancer research and prevention.
If television sport journalism has a working equivalent of the “five-tool” baseball player — that rare, versatile athlete who can excel in all aspects of the game — it’s probably Holly Rowe.
The veteran ESPN reporter/Utah Jazz contributor has covered everything from NCAA football, NBA and WNBA basketball, a variety of college sports, swimming, women’s World Cup soccer — to even the Little League World Series and Spain’s Running of the Bulls.
Soon Rowe will be adding “college commencement speaker” to her resume.
The University of Utah recently announced that Rowe will deliver the keynote address at its 2025 general commencement on May 1 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
She will be the first woman to present the school’s graduation keynote in several years.
Rowe won’t need to ask for directions around campus.
She’s a 1991 graduate of the University of Utah, where she claimed a communications degree. The Beehive State native is also a Woods Cross High School alum and attended Brigham Young University.
“We are proud to have Holly Rowe, one of the university’s best-known alums and one of my favorite ESPN journalists, serve as our 2025 commencement speaker,” said University of Utah President Taylor Randall in a university news release. “Holly has the unique life experience and an exciting job that will inspire our students to dream big.”
Rowe called it an honor to be returning to her alma mater.
“The University of Utah was essential for me to launch a successful life and career,” she said. “I look forward to sharing the lessons I have learned as a sports commentator on grit, hard work and resilience … touching on the lessons I have learned along the way from some of the best athletes and leaders in America.”
Rowe’s wide-ranging, celebrated career is well-known to Utah sports fans.
Rowe won the 2022 Sports Emmy for outstanding personality/reporter and was the 2022 recipient of the Mel Greenberg National Media Award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Rowe earned Emmy nominations in 2023 and 2024, the university release noted.
And in 2021, Rowe made Utah Jazz history as the team’s first female color commentator in a game against the Sacramento Kings.
She has also filed sports stories for several local news outlets — including KSL Radio, Fox 13 TV, KBYU TV, BYU Sports Network and KFNZ Radio.
While at Utah, Rowe was a sportswriter for the school’s Daily Utah Chronicle and the Davis County Clipper.
Cancer survivor — and resolute advocate
While Rowe’s decadeslong sports journalism career has garnered wide attention, she utilizes her platform and influence to champion cancer research and prevention.
Almost a decade ago, Rowe was diagnosed with cancer. She’s currently in treatment for Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma, according to the university release.
A cancer diagnosis has, of course, been life-changing for Rowe,
During an episode of “The Audible” podcast last September, Rowe recounted a discussion she had with her doctor shortly after her diagnosis.
“I remember the doctor telling me, ‘You need to think about how you’re spending your time,’ and I thought that was this really gentle way of saying, ‘We’re not sure how much of it you get left.’”
She’s found strength and happiness in her broadcasting work — even while becoming more intentional about doing things that brought joy.
“I am at my very happiest on the college football sidelines, in college football, at a WNBA game. So I was very intentional about ‘I’m going to keep working these things that bring me joy because if I’m dying, I’m going out at the places that make me happy.’”
She also began writing down joyful moments: “I would start making a list of ‘Today, I was at this game and this happened. Today I saw my son. We rode bikes through Central Park.’”
Rowe told the podcast hosts that she considers herself lucky.
“I’m literally a miracle,” she said. “I had a 12% chance that this drug would work for me, and it has. It’s immunotherapy. But I’ve kept living my joyful moments, and that’s what I want people to do a little bit better.”
Randall calls Rowe a role model for anyone trying “to buck conventional wisdom” and the way things have always been done, according to the university release.
“Holly Rowe worked for decades to change the script and add her voice to sports commentary,” Randall said. “She is an incredible example of resilience and determination.”