2025 Commencement Speaker

Holly Rowe 

Holly Rowe, longtime ESPN commentator and University of Utah alum, will give the keynote address for the U’s 2025 general campus-wide commencement.

U President Taylor Randall and Joe Boyden, president of the Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU), announced the commencement speaker at the Feb. 11 Board of Trustees meeting.

Rowe, is one of ABC/ESPN’s most versatile announcers, covering the College Football National Championship, the Women’s Final Four, WNBA Championship, Softball World Series and many more. Rowe is the first woman to speak at the General Commencement in several years and follows university impact scholars and corporate executives in the role.

“We are proud to have Holly Rowe, one of the university’s best-known alums and one of my favorite ESPN journalists, serve as our 2025 Commencement speaker,” Randall said. “Holly has the unique life experience and an exciting job that will inspire our students to dream big.”

The General Commencement is scheduled for Thursday, May 1 at 6 p.m. at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

“The University of Utah was essential for me to launch a successful life and career,” Rowe said. “I look forward to sharing the lessons I have learned as a sports commentator on grit, hard work and resilience…touching on the lessons I have learned along the way from some of the best athletes and leaders in America. This is a huge honor for me.”

In 2024, Rowe delivered the College of Humanities’ 2024 Parry D. Sorensen Distinguished Lecture—“Working with Joy and Passion: Keys to a Successful Career.”

Rowe won the 2022 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Reporter and was the 2022 recipient of the Mel Greenberg National Media Award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Rowe earned Emmy nominations in 2023 and 2024. And in 2021, Rowe made Utah Jazz history as the team’s first female color commentator in a game against the Sacramento Kings.

Rowe graduated from the U with a degree in communication in 1991. She has worked as a sports reporter and anchor for outlets in Salt Lake City including KSL Radio, Fox 13 TV, KBYU TV, BYU Sports Network and KFNZ Radio. She graduated from the University of Utah with a broadcast journalism degree. While at Utah, Rowe was a sportswriter for the Daily Utah Chronicle and the Davis County Clipper and she anchored the campus TV station news.

Currently in treatment for Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma, Rowe has become a tireless advocate for cancer research and prevention.

Randall noted Rowe is unique in her field of sports commentary, and a role model for anyone trying to buck conventional wisdom and the way things have always been done.

“Holly Rowe worked for decades to change the script and add her voice to sports commentary,” Randall added. “She is an incredible example of resilience and determination.”

Rowe follows two university impact scholars—Interfaith America founder Eboo Patel and UNITE founder Tim Shriver—as commencement speakers. Another Humanities graduate, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser, spoke at commencement in 2022.