Jen Lada Biography
Jen Lada is an ESPN reporter and host for ESPN’s college football coverage. In addition to her reporting, she hosts the Jen, Gabe, and Chewy show for ESPN Radio in Milwaukee which airs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET. She is as well a contributor to ESPN’s in-depth storytelling shows, such as SC Featured, Outside the Lines, and E:60. In June 2024, she made her debut at ‘Around the Horn’.
Having joined the network in 2015, she has filed in as a guest host on various radio and television shows such as Baseball Tonight, First Take and SportsCenter. She as well created content for ESPN’s digital platforms and contributed to the SportsCenter team, as well as Mike and Mike.
Prior to joining ESPN, she served as an anchor and reporter for Comcast SportsNet where she covered the Chicago Bears and White Sox. As well as anchored SportsNet Central, hosted High School Lights, White Sox pre- and postgame shows, and even a trivia show called Beer Money.
Jen began her journalism career as an intern at Preps Plus, a local high school sports show where she stayed for a whole school year. At first she wanted a job but was told she wasn’t ready yet and was offered the intern position instead. At the end of it, she had a good auditioning tape and this led to her getting a bunch of job hits and ended up in WREX-TV in Rockford, Ill., which was close to her home. A couple years later she got a call from Fox 6 (WITI-TV) about an opening and in January 2006 she officially joined the station.
Jen Lada Early Life; Age, Family
Jen was born on January 14th, 1981 in Spring Grove, Illinois, United States. She is the oldest of four. Her dad was a coach and less information is known about her mother. She has said she always wanted to make her parents proud. While in high school, she was an athlete and ran cross country and track which saw her go to state several years.
She has credited her love for sports from “the youthful exuberance of running around outside and getting grass stains.” Her parents struck a balance between academics and play as after school they went outdoors to play.
Jen Lada Height
She stands at a height of 5 ft 7 inches tall.
Jen Lada Education
Lada went to Marian Central Catholic High School, where she excelled on the cross country and track teams. Her athletic prowess earned her a partial scholarship to Marquette University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, she had however switched her major to Public relations but after only three months she realised she didn’t like it and reverted back to dedicating herself to journalism. She was also a cheerleader for the Varsity basketball team.
Jen Lada Husband
Jen has been married to Dario Melendez since October, 2017. Dario is also an Emmy award winning sports journalist who has also worked at ESPN as SportsCenter anchor and a weekend sports anchor at New York 1. He serves as a sports director of WISN-12 in Milwaukee.
Jen Lada First Husband
She was previously married to Sean Reti. The former couple met at Marquette University where they both studied. He is a coach for FC Wisconsin having transitioned from being a player to a coach. He is a former Marquette University soccer player where he earned First Team All-Conference and All-Region Honors all four years, and even earned a First Team All-American nod his senior year. After college, he went on to play for several professional soccer teams within the U.S. before transitioning to coaching. He began his coaching career with the Rockford Raptors, where he would become the Director of Youth Development. His next move was to Elmbrook United where he coached for more than a decade and helped play a major role in developing and improving their youth program.
Jen Lada Children
Lada is a mother of three kids, a son known as Chase from her first marriage to Sean; and two daughters Layla and Keira from her marriage to Dario.
Jen Lada ESPN
Jen is an ESPN reporter and host where she covers college football. In addition, she hosts the Jen, Gabe, and Chewy show for ESPN Radio in Milwaukee which airs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET. She is also a contributor to ESPN’s in-depth storytelling shows, such as SC Featured, Outside the Lines, and E:60.
How Much Does Jen Lada Make?
Jen earns an annual base salary of around $70,000. According to Payscale, sports reporters at ESPN earn an annual salary that ranges from $35k to $224k. She has an estimated net worth of around $1 million.
Jen Lada Achievements and Awards
- In 2011, while at Fox6, she earned the Best Sportscast 1st Place honor from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
- Milwaukee Press Club named her story about a Milwaukee woman who ran across the United States to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis as Best Feature 1st Place..
- In 2023, she was honored in the Short Feature category for her piece on the origin of Wisconsin football’s “Jump Around” tradition at the start of the fourth quarter at home games in Madison.
- In 2020 she earned her first Sports Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Short Sports Documentary category for the E:60-produced feature “Hilinski’s Hope” about South Carolina quarterback Ryan Hilinski and how the devastating loss of his brother Tyler impacted his life both on and off the field.
- Her 2017 SC Featured “Restart” piece earned her a Sports Emmy nomination. The article was about how a racecar driver’s donated heart helped an Army war veteran.