Dari Nowkhah

Darius Behzad "Dari" Nowkhah (born June 23, 1976) is the lead anchor at SEC Network, an American sports television network. On August 21, 2014, The SEC Network began airing, and Nowkhah was chosen to be the head anchor. Nowkhah hosts extensive college football and college basketball programming for the collegiate network. Nowkhah also provides play-by-play for the network's college basketball and college baseball coverage.

Dari Nowkhah
Born
Darius Behzad Nowkhah

(1976-06-23) June 23, 1976
Tulsa, Oklahoma
EducationUniversity of Oklahoma '98
TitleSEC Network Lead Anchor
WebsiteESPN bio

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.

Since January 2011, Nowkhah has hosted a weekly four-hour show titled "Dari and Mel" on ESPN Radio alongside NFL draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr. He also 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 as well as KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska and KOTV in Tulsa.[1]

Nowkhah graduated from Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[2] and then from the University of Oklahoma in 1998[3] with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Personal life

Nowkhah and wife Jenn have three children.[4] On Tuesday, September 20, 2011, Dari announced his infant son, Hayden, died from complications arising from myocarditis, a viral infection that compromised the heart. Nowkhah 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.[4]

Nowkhah is the son of Cy Nowkhah, a 1975 University of Tulsa graduate who immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1969.[5]

Controversy

In a live televised interview after the 2019 semi-final game, Nowkhah asked LSU quarterback Joe Burrow about the death of Carley McCord,[6] daughter-in-law of LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.[7] Burrow was surprised by the news of the death, having not known beforehand, and Nowkhah drew criticism and apologized on Twitter.[8]

References
  1. "Dari Nowkah". espnmediazone.com. ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  2. Bill Haisten, "Spavital situation is quite unique", Tulsa World, June 21, 2006.
  3. Matt Doyle, "Nowkhah takes job at ESPN", Tulsa World, May 28, 2004.
  4. Korbelik, Jeff. "Jeff Korbelik: ESPNU's Nowkhah overcoming tragedy". journalstar.com. JournalStar.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  5. Haisten, Bill. "Tulsa native Dari Nowkhah rises from KOTV to ESPN". tulsaworld.com. Tulsa World. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. White, Ashley (2019-12-28). "Daughter-in-law of LSU offensive coordinator dies in plane crash on way to Peach Bowl". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  7. Salo, Jackie (2019-12-29). "LSU quarterback Joe Burrow learns of Carley McCord's plane-crash death on live TV". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  8. @ESPNDari (2019-12-29). "There's understandably so much sensitivity surrounding yesterday's tragedy involving the LSU family. I'm so sorry for the way we handled the end of our postgame interview with Joe Burrow last night" (Tweet). Retrieved 2019-12-29 – via Twitter.
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