Cronkite convocation to feature keynote by alum and ESPN anchor Matt Barrie

Award-winning ESPN anchor Matt Barrie, a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, will give the keynote convocation speech at the school’s graduation ceremony.

Cronkite Convocation will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, at ASU Gammage, with more than 150 students expected to graduate.

Barrie, who has won 11 Emmy awards and three Edward R. Murrow Awards, hosts ESPN’s “SportsCenter AM” and “SportsCenter on the Road.” He also hosts College Football Playoff and National Championship broadcasts and co-hosts the ESPN golf podcast, “Matty and the Caddie.”

“Having sat in those chairs, I know exactly what it’s like to wonder, ‘What’s next?’” said Barrie, who graduated from Cronkite with his bachelor’s degree in 2001. “I hope that my message will provide them knowledge of how to get from Cronkite into the competitive world of journalism and thrive every step of the way. Above all, I want to inspire them to achieve great things as they begin their journey into one of the greatest responsibilities in our society — journalism.”

With “SportsCenter on the Road,” Barrie hosts from various locations across the country, which have included college campuses on Saturday mornings during football season as well as the Masters and U.S. Open golf tournaments. He also has hosted “College GameDay” on ESPN Radio and made his debut as host of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2018.

Prior to coming to ESPN in 2013, Barrie was an anchor/reporter at KXAS-TV in Dallas for five years, where he hosted weekend sportscasts. He also anchored live coverage of the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers. He has received the 2010 national and regional RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award, five Lonestar Emmy Awards for sports reporting and broadcasting and the Salute to Excellence NABJ Award.

Previously, Barrie was in Columbia, South Carolina, from 2005-2008, where he served as sports anchor/reporter for WLTX-TV and co-hosted the “Matt and Tim Show” on 1400-AM “The Team,” the highest-rated radio show in the Columbia market. For WLTX-TV, he anchored Friday-Monday sportscasts as well as hosted the weekly “Saturday Night Blitz” and “Gamecock Extra” college football shows.

A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, Barrie began his career at WJFW-TV in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, in 2001, where he was the station’s primary Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers reporter before becoming a sports host/reporter at KSWO-TV in Lawton, Oklahoma, from 2003-2005.

“We are thrilled to welcome Matt back to the Cronkite School to share some inspiring words with our outstanding graduates,” said Cronkite School Dean Christopher Callahan. “He is a tremendous role model and represents what it means to be a graduate of our school.”