ESPN College Football’s All-Female F Crew Shows Strength in History-Making Season
For the first time at ESPN, a full college football production "front bench" is occupied by women; learn more about them and the work they do
Week in and week out, ESPN’s college football production team releases the schedule of various crews working the hundreds of games across ESPN platforms all season long. But if you listen to play-by-play commentator Mike Monaco’s signoffs closely, history is being made each week of the 2024 season.
For the first time at ESPN, a full college football front bench is occupied by women. The F crew is led by producer Kaitlin Urka, director Ashley Ward (just honored as one of the Sports Business Journal’s “New Voices Under 30“), associate director Camila Cayere Diaz and technical director Lily Garner.
The quartet was given a regular game assignment alongside commentators Monaco, Kirk Morrison, and Dawn Davenport. While the crew was put together without history in mind, it isn’t lost on Monaco what it means to have all women in the control room.
“It’s really special to have these women in the positions they’re in, and it’s special for a few reasons,” Monaco shared. “First, they’re deserving of these roles regardless of gender. They’re great at what they do, they’re all talented, and we’re lucky to have them leading our crew. That said, they are trailblazers and creating history, whether they were looking to or not. They’re paving the way for the next generation just by being themselves and putting in the work.”
Learn more in the video below about Urka, Ward, Cayere Diaz and Garner and the work they do for ESPN’s industry-leading college football coverage. The F Crew’s next assignment is Saturday, Nov. 23, as the University of Central Florida takes on West Virginia (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
Jon McLeod produced this video and Spencer Jackson contributed
