Nicole Auerbach, a longtime college sports writer for a variety of outlets, announced last week that she was leaving The Athletic after seven years with the sports digital publication. Within her statement posted on X, she expressed gratitude for the company, looked back on what it was able to build and conveyed that she would have an announcement about her future plans soon.
As NBC Sports continues to bolster its coverage of college sports, Auerbach is taking an expanded role with the sports division where she will serve as the lead insider on coverage of college football and college basketball, including the Big Ten Conference, Big East Conference and Atlantic 10 Conference. Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal was the first to report Auerbach’s new job. Part of the role also includes regular columns and a new podcast for NBC Sports Digital platforms.
“After a great start last season, we look forward to Nicole expanding her insider role to include college basketball, while also adding a podcast and written content as we continue to deliver in-depth college sports coverage across our platforms,” Sam Flood, executive producer and president, NBC Sports Production, said in a statement.
Auerbach joined NBC Sports last year as a college football insider where she contributed to weekly editions of B1G College Countdown within the company’s first season of a seven-year deal with broadcast rights to the Big Ten Conference. The broadcast property will make its return to the air on Saturday, Sept. 7 in a matchup between Colorado and Nebraska on NBC and Peacock. NBC Sports begins its football coverage with four consecutive days of prime time programming, starting with the National Football League kickoff game between the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, a rematch of the 2023 AFC Championship Game.
“It’s a dream come true to work with NBC Sports across all of their college sports platforms,” Auerbach said in a statement. “I’ve always prided myself on my ability to break – and explain – the biggest news while also telling stories about the human side of sports, and NBC Sports is the perfect home for me to do both. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Auerbach was recently at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 where she covered swimming competitions for The Athletic, her final assignment with the digital outlet after seven years. Before her time with the publication, she worked as a national college sports reporter for USA TODAY where she served audiences across multiple platforms. The University of Michigan graduate was honored as the youngest winner of the National Sportswriter of the Year award by the National Sports Media Association in 2020.
In addition to her expanded role with NBC Sports, Auerbach will continue to host radio programming on SiriusXM. Earlier in the week, she hosted alongside Ben Hartsock on the SiriusXM College Sports Radio channel where they welcomed a variety of guests to contribute to the overall conversation.
