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HOOVER, Ala. — Tracy Wolfson has been the lead college football sideline reporter for CBS-TV since 2004.
She was at the Southeastern Conference Media Days here to interview players and coaches, including new UK coach Mark Stoops.
“I have not covered Mark. I looked forward to working with him and hopefully seeing him during the season,” said Wolfson, 38.
However, Wolfson is also part of CBS-TV’s college basketball coverage and was the sideline reporter for the Louisville-Duke NCAA Tournament game in March when Louisville’s Kevin Ware suffered a horrific leg injury.
“A lot of people still ask me about that, so it is still fresh in my mind. It took me a few days to really recover and realize what happened. I was sitting four feet behind it,” she said. “Right away you act like any other fan that was watching and then you realize that you have a job to do and your job is to basically cover it as a news reporter, not a sports reporter, and bring the story to the country.
“That’s what I had to do and it took me a few days to really recover, but I finally separated myself. I have to give kudos to (Louisville coach Rick) Pitino and Louisville and their staff. They were really helpful. It is an extremely tough situation to cover and they were really helpful.”
She’s covered a variety of sports, including auto racing, and really was not prepared for what she had to do.
“Sports should be fun. Then I’m facing a huge news story. I knew right away it was bad, but I also knew I had to make sure I handled it the right way,” she said.
She was surprised at how honest, and emotional, Pitino was with her during a halftime interview and is even more amazed with the progress Ware has made. Pitino recently indicated he could be available to the team in mid-October.
“I mean, that’s unbelievable. But when I saw him, they had said the surgery went great and that possibility was there,” Wolfson said. “I think it becomes more of a mental game with him. Can he re-injure it? It’s more mental. But he was ready to go when I saw him and he had that cast on. I wish him the best of luck and hope to see him back out there soon.”
Could she see him in the Final Four again? Louisville is the defending national champion and a consensus top five team in early preseason polls. Of course, Kentucky, the 2012 national champion, is ranked higher. Any chance she could have both back in the Final Four like they were in 2012?
“That would be amazing. Right? Wouldn’t that be fantastic if we could have both of them at the Final Four? I think it is a possibility. I would be excited about that and so would the college basketball world,” Wolfson said.
Count her as a fan of Kentucky coach John Calipari.
“I like John as a coach and I like him as a person. I think you can sit and have a good conversation with him,” Wolfson said. “I love how he gets his players to play and I like that he is so realistic about college basketball and the system and bringing in players and knowing they are not necessarily going to stay for four years and that is just the way it is, especially when you get the talent that you get at Kentucky. I really enjoy the way he gets his teams to play. I love covering him.”
She knows Calipari is bringing in six McDonald’s All-Americans to reload after last year’s NIT season. She watched him reload that way in 2012 and win the title.
“Yes, I am excited to see what it is. You wonder because they are still rookies and so young. He is one of the best at getting them to play and making them veterans by the end of the year when it really counts for March Madness and the Final Four,” she said. “Health obviously plays an issue as it did this year with Nerlens Noel’s injury. I think it will be interesting to see if they can keep it together and get these rookies to play like veterans when it really counts down the stretch like he usually does.”
Now, an even bigger question? Can Stoops develop the UK football program to a point where she might be at Commonwealth Stadium to work a national game for CBS?
“Definitely. I think in the SEC you have to do things a little differently. It’s very hard to come in and be a power, run the ball team against an Alabama, Florida or LSU,” she said. “I think you have to do things a little different at Mississippi or like a (coach) Gus Malzahn at Auburn or what Bobby Petrino did at Arkansas.
“You have to change it up a little bit and you have to get the players. With the success of Kentucky’s basketball, you always bring in good athletes because they want to be part of an environment like that. So I think he can definitely do that.
“Again, I am anxious to see how Neal Brown’s offense unfolds during the year, and we will. Even though we focus on our game of the week, we are always watching throughout the SEC. It’s exciting. We want to be everywhere,” Wolfson said.
“We want every team to have success so we can go there. We have never done a Vanderbilt game. I haven’t been to Vanderbilt yet in nine years. I hope we get that opportunity to come to Lexington.”
So do Kentucky football fans.
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