Melissa Knowles

{{unreferencedBLP|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox actor
| image =
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| birthdate = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1982|1|23}}
| birthplace = {{city-state|Houston|Texas}}, U.S.
| birthname =
| occupation = TV Reporter, Host
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}}

'''Melissa Knowles''' (born January 23, 1982) is an [[United States|American]] sportscaster. She began her career as a national correspondent for Channel One News based in Los Angeles, CA. She is currently a sideline reporter for [[ESPNU]] and hosts the weekly college sports show, "Big 12 This Week" on [[ESPNU.]]

==Early life==
Knowles was born and raised in [[Houston]], [[Texas]]. She is the daughter of Linda Drain and Lonnie Knowles.
She attended [[Plano Senior High School (Texas)]] in [[Plano, Texas]] and later attended [[Southern Methodist University]] to study [[journalism]]. She also worked as a writer and later as an editor for the university newspaper, [[The Daily Campus]]. She was one of the founding members who helped launch the university's student-produced news program, [[The Daily Update]]. She graduated in 2004 with a [[journalism]] degree.

==Career==
After graduation, Knowles decided to follow the guidance of her parents, both lawyers, and enrolled in prep classes for the [[LSAT]]. She took the LSAT, but was offered a job by Channel One News in Los Angeles before applying to law schools and decided to pursue a career in journalism. Knowles was with the U.S. secondary school-aired news program Channel One News from 2004-2006. Knowles covered topics on pop-culture, politics, religion, childhood obesity, sports and more. It was while covering the [[Super Bowl XL]] in [[Detroit, MI]] that Knowles discovered her desire to cover sports exclusively.

In 2006, Knowles was chosen to host [[NCAA On Campus]], a national college sports show that featured stories on NCAA student-athletes around the country on [[ESPN Classic]] and [[ESPNU]]. Beginning in 2007, Knowles began appearing on the sidelines of college football and basketball games on [[ESPNU]]. In 2008, her sideline duties were expanded to include college lacrosse, softball and baseball. Later that year, she was named the host of "[[Big 12 This Week]]", a 30-minute weekly TV broadcast AbOUT the latest stories happening in the Big 12 Conference.

Melissa had a speaking role as the freeway reporter in the movie ''[[Live Free or Die Hard]]''.

==Personal life==
Melissa became engaged during the summer of 2009, and plans to wed in Dallas, Texas in the summer of 2010.

[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sports announcers]]

==Filmography==
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"
|- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Other notes
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| rowspan=2 | [[2007 in film|2007]]
| ''[[Live Free or Die Hard]]''
Freeway Reporter

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2676670/]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1927005/]