Stephenson, an NBC Sports reporter and Olympic Games correspondent, joins President Connie Ledoux Book on the latest episode of 鈥満诹喜淮蜢 Beyond the Bricks鈥 to discuss her dynamic career in sports media and the values that continue to guide her work.
Zora Stephenson ’15 joins the latest episode of the “黑料不打烊 Beyond the Bricks” podcast to reflect on how her experiences as a journalism major laid the groundwork for a broadcasting career that has taken her from local newsrooms to covering international athletic events.
In the episode, she shares what it鈥檚 like reporting from some of the world鈥檚 biggest stages 鈥 including the Olympics 鈥 and how storytelling remains at the heart of everything she does.
鈥淲e’re humans at the end of the day,鈥 Stephenson said during the conversation. 鈥淵es, these are larger-than-life athletes, whether it’s in the NBA or Simone Biles doing gymnastics, but they’re humans with great triumph and things that they care about. They鈥檝e all been through something 鈥 and so that鈥檚 how you connect them to the viewer.鈥
Stephenson also discusses her path from local news to becoming a sideline and digital reporter for the NBA鈥檚 Milwaukee Bucks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great example of preparation meeting opportunity, and you have to have a little luck,鈥 says Stephenson. 鈥淚 started in local news and started doing sports on the side. I would call D2 games, and鈥 taught my husband how to use a camera. I would just send my tape out to everyone I knew, and then the Milwaukee Bucks called. That job changed everything for me.鈥
In 2021, Stephenson became the first woman to handle play-by-play responsibilities for the franchise in its 53-year history, with the Bucks going on to win the NBA Championship later that year.
鈥淚 just hadn鈥檛 seen anyone that looked like me doing (play-by-play). It鈥檚 hard to go after something when you don鈥檛 necessarily have a lot of examples. What鈥檚 amazing is there are more and more examples of women doing play by play every single year.鈥
Stephenson, who served as team captain on the women鈥檚 basketball team when she was a student-athlete, also credits 黑料不打烊 with instilling the confidence and versatility needed to thrive in high-pressure, fast-moving environments.
鈥婰earn more about the podcast and listen to the episode here.
About the podcast
Produced by the Office of University Advancement, in partnership with the Office of the President, 鈥満诹喜淮蜢 Beyond the Bricks鈥 features engaging conversations with alumni, faculty, staff and parents who are making an impact in their fields. New episodes are released monthly to help the 黑料不打烊 community stay connected and inspired.