Charissa Thompson

Charissa Thompson (born May 4, 1982; first name pronounced with a hard "k" sound) is an American television host and sportscaster who as of September 2011 is working for ESPN. Previously, Thompson worked for Fox Sports and Versus, as well as for GSN and the Big Ten Network. She is the co-host of SportsNation along with Marcellus Wiley, having replaced Michelle Beadle in that role in July 2012.

Education and early career
Thompson has appeared on baseball programs, including The 2007 MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade and The Baseball Report both on FSN.

Her duties include NFL sideline reporter for Fox, as well as for college football and college basketball games on Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net. She also appears on the college football shows Friday Night Tailgate, on Big Ten Network; as well as BCS Breakdown and The BCS Show on FSN. She also co-hosted FSN's The Best Damn Sports Show Period alongside Chris Rose and John Salley. The show was canceled in July 2009.

She hosted FSN's rodeo show Toughest Cowboy. and was the co-host of Big Saturday Night on GSN and host of countdown show Big Ten's Best on Big Ten Network.

In 2009, she performed sideline reporting in the television show Shaq Vs.. In the fall of 2009, she was named an ice-level reporter for NHL on Versus.

In 2010, Charissa appeared on the NFL Network's "NFL Now Updates". She covered the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, reporting for Yahoo! Sports. She was also recently added as a co-host for the Speed Network's "Fast Track To Fame" alongside NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip. In June and July 2010, Thompson covered the FIFA World Cup in South Africa for Yahoo! Sports. In January 2011, she covered the BCS National Championship game for Yahoo! Sports. In February 2011, she covered the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas, for Yahoo! Sports. Also in February, Charissa covered the NBA All-Star Game for Yahoo! Sports.

In January 2011, Charissa covered the NHL All-Star Game for Versus. In February 2011, Versus dropped Charissa and Lindsay Soto from their ice-level reporting staff after the NBC-Comcast merger; they were replaced by Pierre McGuire and Brian Engblom, forming the Inside the Glass team.

ESPN
In June 2011, Thompson joined ESPN. With Michael Smith she co-hosted the show Numbers Never Lie, which debuted September 12, 2011. Charissa has also filled in as a host on SportsNation and ESPN First Take. In July 2012, she replaced Michelle Beadle as host of SportsNation after Beadle left for NBC.

Non-broadcasting works
Thompson appeared on the cover of the April 2009 issue of Access DirecTV (satellite TV provider DirecTV's monthly TV Guide-like magazine) and interviewed Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels for the feature story.

In 2009, Thompson was nominated as one of Playboy's Sexiest Sportscasters of the year. She made it as far as a Top Five finalist.

Personal
Thompson lives in Los Angeles. She is currently dating ESPN analyst Jay Williams.