On autumn and winter Sundays throughout the NFL, players and coaches prepare for games that will be watched by an audience of millions, including countless bettors who hope they can pick a winner, beat the point spread and cash their proposition bets. Meanwhile, in Bristol, Connecticut, Erin Dolan is working through a frenzied day that includes numerous TV appearances. She’ll appear on ESPN’s SportsCenter twice, while making stops on the sports gambling program ESPN BET Live and several other network shows, including the flagship NFL Countdown. All told, it’s easily enough studio-to-studio steps to satisfy any fitness program. “From my perspective, it feels like game day, because I have so many shows,” Dolan says.
The Cardinal O’Hara High School graduate has become one of ESPN’s fastest-rising young personalities by tapping into the nation’s fascination with sports gambling. She analyzes the betting climate and provides picks for viewers, who’d be wise to listen closely. Dolan estimates that last year, she hit on 66 percent of her NFL forecasts. “The NFL is by far my favorite sport,” she says.
The 28-year old Media native began at ESPN in late 2021, working remotely from her bedroom and creating a timely niche. Even if sports broadcasting goes the way of streaming services, gambling will continue to grow. Fans and leagues understand its revenue potential.
Dolan had no serious history with sports betting growing up. But upon graduation from Penn State University in 2018 with a sports broadcasting degree, she saw its potential in the expanding niche and immersed herself in it. Dolan’s ascension at ESPN wasn’t just good timing. “There’s a really incredible work ethic and motor—you have to have that motor,” says Scott Clark, vice president of ESPN’s fantasy and betting division. “You look at [ESPN personalities] Adam Schefter and Stephen A. Smith, who moved up due to a high level of focus and a high motor. [Dolan] has both things. She wants to do it. She wants to get better. She wants more opportunities. She’s aggressive in communicating that and wanting to get better.”
And though Dolan started at ESPN in December of 2021, she wasn’t in Bristol until this past September. She spent nearly two years working from a home studio, where her comfort in front of a camera was obvious. “I don’t know where it comes from,” she says. “My parents used to film me dancing and singing. They thought I’d be in entertainment. But I can’t dance or sing. But I never had any fear of being in front of a camera.”
Growing up, Dolan ran track and cross-country and was a successful middle- and long-distance runner, heading to the University of Oregon, where she ran club track but didn’t like the school’s quarter semester system. She was also looking for a stronger broadcast journalism program. Hence the transfer to Penn State, where she graduated summa cum laude and had an internship at ESPN.
She began her career at PHL17, doing sideline work on the station’s coverage of Philadelphia Wings indoor lacrosse games. After a year there, she went on to work with FanDuel and PointsBet sportsbooks, creating content across social media and other platforms. Interestingly, sports gambling became legal beyond Las Vegas the same year Dolan graduated from Penn State—and she did her homework. Once FanDuel gave her a chance to make picks, “I knew what I was doing,” she says.
Dolan’s busy schedule doesn’t allow for much free time. She confesses that she has no hobbies. “I wish I were a little more interesting,” she says. “When I’m not working, I think about work.”
And she seems nonplussed with the male-dominated industry of sports gambling. “I have a thick skin,” she says. “I’m from Delaware County. It comes with the territory.”
“They consider her part of the Countdown show,” Clark adds. “That’s something we saw immediately with her—in the studio, she can hold her own with literally anyone.”
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