It is rare for sports broadcasting firsts to exist in 2020 but Shae Peppler Cornette and Jordan Cornette, the co-hosts of ESPN Radio’s GameDay each Sunday during the football season from 1-5 p.m. ET, can claim something that has never existed before them:
They are the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio show.
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“When we watch a game together, we’re just being ourselves and we talk about what we see,” Shae said. “That’s ultimately our prep for our radio show, too. It’s our life carrying over, just with a microphone in front of our mouths.”
The Cornettes met in Chicago while both were working at Campus Insiders (now known as Stadium) and occasionally shared a mic together on Chicago’s ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM). In August 2019 Jordan moved to Connecticut to help launch the ACC Network as a studio host and in-game analyst while Shae stayed in Chicago to finish the Bears season as a sports anchor for FOX 32 in Chicago. She moved to Connecticut this March (three days after the NBA suspended its season) to join Jordan. I recently spoke to the couple as part of a podcast on the topic of how such a dynamic works professionally.
What does it mean to be the first of something in sports broadcasting?
Shae: I thought this is cool, a real opportunity for us to do something that no one else has done. Jordan and I are very similar, but we’re also very different in our personalities. Obviously you can tell we’re both very outgoing, very outspoken, passionate about sports, passionate about things in life. We both don’t take ourselves too seriously and have a good sense of humor. But we have different views on different things. We look very different. We react to sports very different. We’re passionate about different teams. I’m from Chicago. He’s from Cincinnati. There are natural arguments when we are on radio together that we also have in our house because we’re so comfortable with each other. I think when you start working with someone, it takes a little time for you to get to a point where you feel like you can really push someone else’s buttons. Well, I can say whatever I want with him. I don’t care if he’s mad at me. He’s got to go home with me anyways.
From the jump we had that kind of relationship over the airwaves. Our bosses and everyone that has listened so far have told us that it is really rare. I did ESPN Radio in Chicago, but this is my first time doing national radio at ESPN. I do SiriusXM NFL Radio, but obviously not with my husband. So it’s kind of a few firsts for me, but definitely really cool to be working with my husband and to do something that no one has done at ESPN before, which is very rare nowadays.
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Jordan: When we made the move here, it was very selfless of Shae to give up all that she had established with her career in Chicago. She said, ‘Hey, Jordan’s got this great shot, I have faith in Jordan’s career and where that can take him, but I also have faith in my own career to think I can leave behind FOX 32 and a show on Fridays covering the Bears, being on the Bears beat, and covering the Bulls, Cubs and Sox.’ Plus, Chicago is her hometown and she had a ton of her family there watching her. So she left that behind to go somewhere else and have faith to do something special again. I knew that was possible on her individual abilities. But I also was like if people are paying attention, they’ll see that me and her have something special together. I was always patient with that. I never really pushed it to anybody. I was just like let’s just see if they connect the dots and to the credit of the people on ESPN Radio’s side, they got wind of her ability, saw what I could do, and put us in this position.
There’s a Darius Rucker song that’s become a favorite of mine because Shae’s kind of turned me into a country music fan. “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” It’s the hook on one of his songs, and it’s true. When do you get the chance to say as you get older in age that you’re doing something for the first time? For us there was trepidation early on, but I think we’ve really found a fun time by simply being ourselves.
How would you describe your on-air chemistry, and is your on-air chemistry something unique and different than what your chemistry is in your personal life?
Jordan: That’s a good question. I would say it’s real as f*ck. That’s our chemistry. You see the places where we know each other and can finish each other’s sentences. This thing just organically goes. But you also have spots where it comes to a halt, where Jordan talked over Shae too much, or Shae said something there. We let our relationship play out like a married couple. I mean, we’re going to lean into what we are. We are two sports fans who love what’s playing out in front of us, that are married, and are around each other now 24/7. So sometimes that rears an ugly head, which makes for beautiful radio. Sometimes it’s just fun to listen to people who have that chemistry because let’s be honest, that’s what the suits are looking for when they pair people together in TV and radio or anything. Do these two have chemistry? Well, hello! We exchanged vows a year and a half ago. Of course I hope we have that, and we’ll just let it ride in this business. You are judged in this business if you’re liked and if you endear yourself to people. We just go out there and say, “This is who we are, this is our relationship, do you see similarities in us, do you love it, do you hate it. If you enjoy it, ride along with us.”
Shae: Exactly. This has gotten us in trouble a few times to the point where our boss has come into the room because we record our radio show at ESPN on campus. We have to have all the TV’s in front of us for a 1 p.m. ET start time (for the NFL). There’s normally seven, eight, nine games going on at once. There’s been points where our bosses or producer have come in during the breaks and said, “OK, let’s tone it down a little. If you guys want to talk about this in the break, get it out.” Or, “Jordan, don’t make a sexual innuendo again please.” I would say our on-air chemistry is very similar to what you’re getting now or what you would get at home. When we watch a game together, we’re just being ourselves and we talk about what we see. But that’s ultimately our prep for our radio show too. It’s our life carrying over, just with a microphone in front of our mouths.
When was the first time you worked together on air?
Jordan: In radio it was at ESPN 1000 in 2018. I was working there two to three times a week with David Kaplan, who gave me my first real big break in terms going somewhat mainstream locally in Chicago. Chicago sports-talk radio is huge and David Kaplan has a great platform and brought me in and I am forever thankful for that. So (the execs there) decided to throw Shae in there. She was working at FOX 32 and had a built-in following covering in the Bears. It was let’s pair these two together and have a fun week over Thanksgiving and Christmas. We got a lot of good feedback. I mean even the trolls who usually come at you with hate, there was some of that, but most of it was this is refreshing, this is unique, this is fun. That’s kind of where we knew, hey, if we ever get a chance to do this again, we can really grow and build off of that.
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Shae: Prior to that we had both worked where we met, which is now Stadium, but at the time it was Campus Insiders. We both covered college basketball. We had been on games together and done some segments together. That’s where we really started to work together. At Stadium I did everything. I hosted. I did sidelines for games. We even dabbled in producing a little bit. I’ll speak for him to answer the question. He was a color analyst on games and also was a studio analyst. Stadium was a great place for both of us because we got to do so much. I covered college football and college basketball. He dabbled in college football and did college basketball.
Jordan: We really got to sharpen the toolset while working off of each other. It was me and her being able to be a little goofy, have a little bit of fun, experiment with things. That’s really where that chemistry grew professionally, which inevitably kind of bled into, hey, I wonder if I can take this woman out for a drink and get to know her outside of that. That’s where everything kind of blossomed.
How did you navigate dating while working together on air?
Jordan: It’s an incredibly unique circ*mstance because in that timeframe I think people looked at some of the workplace behavior a little bit differently, and they look at it more sharply now than they did then as they should do. It’s not like we crossed any boundaries. But I think in 2020 if Shae was a woman that I was working with and I had that interest, I don’t even know if I’d broach presenting that kind of idea in my head because of what the workplace is and the lens in which it’s viewed now. In my opinion, that’s a good thing. But in that time the chemistry was just inevitable where it was both of us mutually wanting to pursue something. We definitely let our bosses know. I was coming up towards the end of my contract at that time, honestly, so it never really became too much of a thing because I was moving on to a better opportunity.
Shae: By the time we had started dating we had both already been at Campus Insiders for a few years. We had established good relationships with our bosses and our co-workers as two separate people. We had been there for a few years, so when we decided to start dating, we definitely kept it under wraps until we knew it was something that was going to be serious. Then we dramatically took some of our co-workers and bosses out to lunch and made a bigger deal than it was. They were like, we already figured this was going on.
What kind of feedback have you received when people learn you are a married couple as opposed to just being a man and woman doing a sports radio show?
Jordan: I honestly think it’s so obvious in a three-minute listening session of our show. I just think it just pops up. We don’t beat you over the head with it but I think when you turn us on for the first time on a Sunday, which I hope does happen at some point, I think you’ll listen and you’ll say there’s more to these two. Like, there’s something there. They’ve got to be dating. They got to be married. If not, they need to be because just how we communicate right from the jump. It just sounds different. I can promise you that.
Shae: I think there’s a little bit of ego probably with each one of us because we started in this business on our own. Maybe a little more so for me because my last name has changed, and I’ve changed cities. It is a little bit more of an identity change for me than it is for Jordan. There are moments where I’m like, well, I hope everyone remembers I got here on my own. Honestly the reward is so much better than that thought process. But there are moments where I have to remind myself I got myself to this place on my own.
Jordan: And that’s very true. Inevitably, ego does come up a little bit in this business no matter how great the personalities and the character of people. It’s just human nature. For us, it truly doesn’t happen. I don’t see how it could happen because a win for my wife, the person I love as much as anything in this world, is a win for me. That really is the truth. So there’s no way where I could be like, well I can’t let her get too much shine. We are one entity doing this thing. I think it eliminates something that can creep into any relationship or partnership professional. That’s eliminated for us. That is very refreshing.
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Shae: And one bank account. That’s a nice thing.
Jordan: I went kicking and screaming on the one account thing but here we are.
For those who have not heard your radio show, how would you describe it?
Shae: Well, it’s on NFL Sundays and it starts right as games kick off. So if you are driving in your car, it’s the best way to be updated on what’s going on if you can’t visually see what’s going on. We like to call ourselves kind of like a radio version of RedZone, with a little bit of relationship flair. There’s still a little bit of that sports talk radio in there, but naturally we also have to fill you in on what’s going on — the touchdowns, the injuries, the game leads or whatever else. So it’s a little bit of everything. I think that’s why it’s been successful. There’s personality, there’s sports-talk radio there, there’s score updates. And we’ve got guests from time to time.
Jordan: It has a “Good Morning Football”-type of vibe meets RedZone meets sports-talk radio. We try to let our personalities come out where they can, but we also want people to know scores for your gambling reasons or your fandom or for your fantasy teams. We are hitting you with all that while still giving you sports talk. There’s not a lot of shows on Sundays that are giving you live sports-talk radio like that. I think we’ve carved out a nice piece of the corner for people to come listen to us on Sunday.
How have you defined who brings the show in and out of breaks and who serves as the traditional A chair or host?
Jordan: That was probably the biggest question coming in because I can very easily drive a show and I have had the opportunity to do that at ESPN. Shae has driven everything she’s been a part of, including our relationship and the house. Even when we worked together back in the beginning, she was always headstrong about I’m just most confident working with you when I have a leading voice, when I’m driving it, because you can go anywhere and you’re good at picking up wherever I go. I was always hesitant about that. I like driving, too. This was a push and pull. It’s compromise. When we did the first show for ESPN Radio, we split it and at the end of the show I was like this kind of sucked. You’re meant to be driving and when you drive it allows you to do what you excel at most and I can do either one of them. I like playing off her. Like in life. She leads the way, and I’m following along. I think it’s really worked. We found a good formula.
Shae: Let’s just be honest. I didn’t play basketball. I didn’t play football. That wasn’t my M.O. I love sports. I’ve covered them for a long time now. I can hang with the best of them. But I didn’t play the game. Women can cover anything and be an analyst for anything, but my preference is that he has a perspective I don’t have. I have opinions. Don’t get me wrong. I will give them on the radio. But I would rather have a perspective from Jordan who has lived in it and been in those locker rooms and has played college basketball at the highest level (Jordan was a two-time captain for Notre Dame basketball from 2001 to 2005) and has been around these athletes and settings. So I just thought it was the best recipe.
Jordan: That’s all bullsh*t. I didn’t play in the National Football League. I just think she’s trying to cover for the fact she’s really got to drive this show. She drives a show. It works. That’s really what it is.
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How much are sports a part of your day-to-day relationship outside of when you’re on the air?
Jordan: This is kind of where we battle the most.
It’s trying to realize when the moment we’ve hit is too much, too much sports talk. We’re always trying to get better. We will critique each other. But there comes a point where Shae is like, “Enough. Let’s get away from it. We don’t need to talk about how we did this or where we can be better or what our next step is like. Let’s turn on ‘The Bachelorette’ or watch a dumb movie.” It can consume us because we love the medium and we’re always looking to get better. We always wanted to be doing this so we’re blessed to be doing it. But there comes a point where you have to immerse yourself in other things because we do have other passions.
Shae: We have sports on all the time. If we’re eating dinner, it’s on in the background. If I’m making dinner, it’s on in the background. It’s definitely part of our everyday life. My mother comes to visit us, and she is not a sports fan. She’s like, “Can we turn this off?” It’s on 24 hours a day. But I will say when we go out for dinner and we have some alone time, it’s phones down and we don’t need to be checking Twitter. If there’s breaking news, we’ll get an alert. You’ve got to have that escape because otherwise it will drive you nuts, especially working together now.
What is your hope when it comes to ESPN or elsewhere in terms of what you want professionally?
Shae: Well, my hope is to be full-time covering sports on an everyday basis, hopefully at ESPN or at a network level in the very near future. I know what I signed up for when I left Chicago. I had carved out a really good career in the city I grew up in. But we made a pact. Whoever gets it first or gets that dream job first, the other has to go with the flow and he was first. If the roles were reversed, I’d hope he would say let’s go. I figure if I’m good at my job and stay on top of things, eventually it’ll come. Look, no one’s in an ideal situation right now. I don’t care what job you have or what industry you’re in. Unless you’re making toilet paper, things are probably not going the way you expected it to go. So I am just trying to be patient and roll with the punches. I’m lucky enough to have a radio gig obviously with my husband, but then also one with SiriusXM that I can do for my house. If I can just stay in it and ride the wave, hopefully when things start turning around, I’ll get that full-time opportunity.
Jordan: I can’t go back and score 2,000 more points in college. I can’t go back and get drafted. sh*t, I wish I could. I’d be in better shape. But when you have that self-awareness, it is really to your advantage. I always said to myself, “How can I be different without compromising who I am?” I think one of the things about me is I have a dynamic set of interests and, I like to think, a dynamic set of skills. I looked at it and said, “Well, I can host and set these guys up. I love football just as much as I love basketball. Baseball included. Why don’t I try hosting some stuff, too?” The more I do and can excel at, I think that allows the bosses and the suits to say we could probably use Cornette and not just that he was a basketball player and a good analyst. I love calling games. I love being a commentator. The atmosphere being there is second to none. But I also love sitting on a desk on a football Saturday with (ACC Network colleagues) coach Mark Richt, Eric Mac Lain and E.J. Manuel and setting them up on questions and taking a deeper dive on what we’re seeing on a football Saturday.
What kind of feedback have you gotten from ESPN executives about how the radio show?
Shae: It took us probably about three weeks to kind of figure the show out.
Jordan: The first week was horrible.
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Shae: Week Three is where we really got our stride after a few warmup games. Ever since then, honestly, we’ve gotten great feedback from our bosses. I know that there’s been a lot of people that have taken notice, and I’m especially grateful for that because I’m obviously new to the ESPN party. We have gotten some great feedback just in terms of our chemistry, our relationship, and how we’ve been able to translate that on air. We would hope that maybe down the road it leads to something more long term or a simulcast maybe. I don’t know. Look, we all know how brutal social media can be. If anyone is going to keep it real, it’s going to be there. Even on Sundays the response for us has been positive, which is shocking for everyone involved. So we’re hoping it’s going in the right way but we can’t make that decision. But we are definitely pushing for it.
Jordan: I got to ESPN at 36, 37 years old, and that was 15 years in the business, starting from production assistant up. That to me is fast. I really understand the power of patience and not getting too much in your own head and wanting it all in that very moment. I look around, and the really cool thing about ESPN is you can’t take five steps without running into somebody on campus who’s immensely talented. That’s just what it is. There’s a lot of people standing in that line waiting for their number to be called. We just got to hope ours will be called at some point. All we can do is keep our heads down, keep being married, keep having chemistry.
Shae: Keep being married? Let’s hope so.
What sports topic do you most disagree on and why?
Shae: We have our usual week-to-week arguments on games and players, but we usually agree on big-picture topics. However, we are both alums of schools from the state of Indiana, so this one is a constant disagreement in our home.
Jordan: Notre Dame football is a bigger national brand and will return to glory/win a championship sooner than IU.
Shae: Indiana basketball is a bigger national brand and will return to glory/win a championship before Notre Dame does.
Would the show continue if you got divorced?
Shae: Could we not do that, Richard (laughs)? We are just starting to get along. It will be two years in June.
Jordan: Wait a second, let’s answer the question. Would you still do the show?
Shae: No, I’ll have my own show. Take a walk.
(Photo courtesy of the Cornettes)
