Molly Ann Qerim (born March 31, 1984) is an American television personality and host of

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's '' First Take''. She previously was the host of

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

's weekday morning show, '' NFL AM'', and ''NFL Fantasy Live''.

Early life

Qerim was born at

Yale New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second-largest hospital in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Med ...

and grew up in

Cheshire, Connecticut Cheshire ( ), is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Cheshire was 28,733. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The center of population of Connecticut i ...

, to an Italian Catholic mother and an Albanian father. She graduated from Cheshire High School before attending the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in communications and a minor in business administration. She received a master's degree from

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

in broadcast journalism.

Career

Qerim began as an anchor and reporter for the

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

. She was also a studio anchor, where she hosted ''SEC Tailgate Show'', ''SEC Tonight'', ''MaxPreps Lemming Report'', ''Full Court Press'' and ''Bracket Breakdown''. Qerim has also covered the UFC in her time with ESPN, Versus (which became

NBCSN NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Lif ...

) and FS1. In addition to her work outside the Octagon, she has co-hosted the annual World MMA Awards. In 2008, Qerim was the interactive host for ''College Football Live'' on ESPN and ESPN2. She was also the breaking news reporter for ''Fantasy Football Now'' on ESPN2 and was honored with an Emmy for her contribution to the show. Additionally, she co-hosted ''Campus Connection'' on ESPNU. Qerim has been part of other digital media content, conducting interviews of various athletes and celebrities for ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile. She has covered multiple Super Bowls (hosting, reporting, and red carpet events), the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

presentation, the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, the

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

and the

MLB All-Star game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

, providing on-site reporting and interviews. She became the interim host of

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

's '' First Take'' in mid-July 2015. She replaced Cari Champion, who was promoted to

's flagship show, ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

''. She was promoted to permanent host of ''First Take'' on September 15, 2015.

Personal life

On April 13, 2018, Qerim announced that she has severe

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

. On July 20, 2018, Qerim married former NBA player and fellow ESPN host

Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Michigan Wolverines, Wolverines' "Fab Five (University of Michigan), Fa ...

. In December 2021, TMZ Sports announced Rose had filed for divorce from Qerim, after being separated for about a year. Qerim is a fan of the NFL’s

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qerim, Molly 1984 births American people of Italian descent American people of Albanian descent American television sports anchors American women sportswriters College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers ESPN people Living people Mixed martial arts broadcasters NFL announcers NFL Network people People from Cheshire, Connecticut People from New Haven, Connecticut Quinnipiac University alumni University of Connecticut alumni