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CV

Work Experience

2011-2024

ESPN: Reporter

My main beat at ESPN was college football, where I broke news, wrote features, enterprise stories, covered the sport from top to bottom and became an expert voice in football, NIL, recruiting and the transfer portal.

 

During my time covering college football, I earned a Heisman vote. I am

one of 25 people in the state of Michigan with a vote. My stories had millions of page views annually and I won multiple awards, including first place in the APSE awards in the investigation category.

 

I was tasked with TV and radio appearances across SportsCenter, College Football Live and other ESPN shows and networks, where I was a regular guest throughout the year.

 

I covered the transfer portal as the lead reporter, where I broke news on transfers, made predictions on landing spots and ranked players out as best available. I was the lead reporter on the recruiting beat, as well, and covered news for top prospects and trends throughout the landscape of college football.

 

I covered name, image and likeness across college sports and built connections with key players throughout the space.

 

I also covered golf for ESPN, and focused on creative, off-beat stories that weren’t the typical news or player stories. I used my creativity to find interesting ideas that would resonate with readers. I have covered tournaments, live events, investigative stories and breaking news within the golf industry and professional golf.

 

In addition to those two beats, I also covered sports business. I focused on trends, news, and worked with a variety of companies and PR professionals to develop compelling stories. I became the lead reporter on sports business for part of my tenure at ESPN, where I built and established connections and sources that were wide ranging. I covered collectibles, from sports cards to memorabilia and reported on the hobby with a focus on trends and news.

2007-2009

Mindspace: New business coordinator

I was the new business coordinator for an advertising agency In Tempe, Arizona. I was tasked with obtaining new clients and was part of the creative process to develop strategy for each Individual client. That Included branding sessions, as well as marketing and PR strategies that varied depending on the client.

2006-2007

Wells Fargo Financial: Senior credit manager

As a credit manager, I sold financial solutions to Wells Fargo clients. That included mortgages, personal loans and auto loans. During my time with Wells Fargo, I was runner up for rookie of the year, earned multiple awards and was regularly near the top of most sales categories.

Education

2001-2006

Central Michigan University

Bachelor of applied arts in communication with a minor in business administration

2008-2010

Ashford University

Master’s degree with a focus on marketing

© 2024 by Tom VanHaaren

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