Darius Behzad "Dari" Nowkhah (born June 23, 1976) is the lead anchor at

SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...

, an American sports television network (he was chosen as a head anchor when it began airing in August 21, 2014). Nowkhah hosts extensive college football and college basketball programming for the collegiate network and also provides play-by-play for the network's college basketball and college baseball coverage. Nowkhah's move to ESPNU's Charlotte, NC headquarters came after seven years in Bristol, CT where he hosted a variety of shows for ESPN. Among the shows Nowkhah hosted were SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight and College Football Live. He fills in as a host on a variety of other ESPN Radio programs. Before working at ESPN, Nowkhah worked at KCFW-TV in

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: Kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in Montana and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at ...

, as well as KLKN-TV in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

and KOTV in Tulsa. Nowkhah graduated from Union High School in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, and then from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

in 1998Matt Doyle
"Nowkhah takes job at ESPN"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

'', May 28, 2004. with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Personal life

Nowkhah and his wife Jenn have four children. On Tuesday, September 20, 2011, Nowkhah announced the death of his infant son, Hayden, who died from complications arising from

myocarditis Myocarditis is inflammation of the cardiac muscle. Myocarditis can progress to inflammatory cardiomyopathy when there is associated ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction due to chronic inflammation. Symptoms can include shortness of bre ...

, a viral infection that compromised the heart. He and his wife have since set up Hayden's Hope, a foundation dedicated to helping families cover expenses due to their children's organ transplants. Nowkhah is the son of Cy Nowkhah, a 1975 University of Tulsa graduate who immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1969.

References

External links

ESPN Bio
Living people 1976 births American television sports anchors College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers American people of Iranian descent Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma College baseball announcers in the United States {{US-journalist-1970s-stub