<p>Christine Brennan is an award-winning national sports columnist for <i>USA Today</i>, a commentator for CNN, ABC News, PBS <i>NewsHour, </i>and National Public Radio, a best-selling author, and a nationally-known speaker. Named one of the country’s top 10 sports columnists multiple times by the Associated Press Sports Editors, she has covered the last 20 Olympic Games, summer and winter.</p><p>Brennan was the first woman sports writer at <i>The Miami Herald</i> in 1981 and the first woman to cover Washington’s NFL team as a staff writer at T<i>he Washington Post</i> in 1985. She was the first president of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and started a scholarship-internship program that has supported nearly 200 female students over the past two decades.</p><p>Brennan is the author of seven books. Her 2006 sports memoir, <i>Best Seat in the House</i>, is the only father-daughter memoir written by a sports journalist. Her 1996 national best-seller, <i>Inside Edge</i>, was named one of the top 100 sports books of all-time by <i>Sports Illustrated</i>.</p>
Most widely-read female sports columnist
<ul><li><strong>Fathers and Daughters</strong></li><li>This is a heartwarming talk about a little girl who grew up to love sports - with the support of her strong father. Now a successful author and journalist, Christine Brennan's dad was her biggest fan at a time (the late 60's and '70's) when most athletically gifted girls were told sports were not for them. Christine's dad, ironically a rock-ribbed Republican, became her own personal Title IX, and through his support, she blossomed toward a career in - you guessed it - sports! From covering the greatest pro and college football teams, to reporting on the Olympic Games then onto critical sports issues like role models, sports and our kids, steroids and other news, Christine's successes are rooted in that childhood joy of loving sports with her dad. Christine's moving keynote celebrates the special bond between fathers and daughters and how, with a dad's encouragement, little girls can achieve their dreams.</li><li><strong>From the Sidelines to the Locker Room</strong></li><li>In this speech, Christine Brennan shares her stories as the nation's most-read female sports journalist. She shares her many experiences, and what it is like being a women in a predominantly male field.</li><li><strong>Making Sense of Title IX</strong></li><li>Title IX is the law that changed the playing fields in America. Sports speaker Christine Brennan discusses the impact of Title IX, and what it has done for women in sports today.</li></ul>