Elise Menaker is one of the most familiar faces in Chicago sports TV. Fans often ask the same questions about her. Where did she go to school? How did she get her start? Is she married? How old is she?
This guide gives clear answers in simple words. The facts come from official pages, such as Cornell Athletics and Marquee Sports Network, and from trusted news sources. When something is not shared in public, we say so instead of guessing.
Who Is Elise Menaker?
Elise Menaker is an American sports broadcaster who works in the Chicago area. She is a host and reporter for Marquee Sports Network, the TV home of the Chicago Cubs. She also works for the Big Ten Network as a football sideline reporter, softball analyst, and studio host.
Before she was on TV, Elise was a star softball player at Cornell University. Today, many Cubs fans know her face from game day shows. In this article, you will learn about her school years, her jobs, her big “firsts,” and the questions fans ask the most.
Early Life and Education
Growing Up in Wilmette, Illinois
Elise is a native of Wilmette, Illinois. Wilmette is a town just north of Chicago. She grew up watching the Cubs on TV. Years later, she told Cornell Athletics that baseball is her favorite sport and that covering her hometown team feels like a dream job.
She is also the younger sister of Chicago radio host Michelle “Showbiz Shelly” Menaker. This was shared in a media column by Robert Feder in the Daily Herald.
Elise did not always plan to cover sports. As a girl, she dreamed of working at a fashion magazine, maybe as an editor. In college, she had a few magazine internships. But she could not see herself doing that job for the rest of her life. Her mom had always told her that internships are a great way to find out what you love. That advice helped change her path.
Cornell University and College Softball Career
Elise went to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She played softball there for four years and graduated in 2010.
She was a big star on the field. Here is what Cornell’s athletics office says about her:
- She was named first-team All-Ivy three times.
- She finished her career as Cornell’s record-holder for doubles, with 53.
- She ranked in the top five in school history for home runs (37), RBIs (188), runs scored (156), and batting average (.363).
- Her team won 154 games and lost 52 while she was there. The team also won two Ivy League titles and played in the NCAA tournament.
In 2020, Elise was added to the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame. Her teammate Alyson Intihar went in with her that year.
After college, Elise also spent about four months in Sweden. She played pro softball there for a team called the Skövde Saints.
Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism
Later, Elise went back to Chicago to study at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. She was also a Bloomberg scholar there.
In her classes, she tried to write about sports whenever she could. She focused on the business side of sports, too. Elise has said that her news training and her time at Medill made her a better sports reporter, because they taught her the basics of good journalism.
Sports Broadcasting Career
Early Journalism Experience
Elise’s TV career started in the summer of 2009. She worked as an intern in the sports department at ABC7 Chicago. On July 23, 2009, she went to a White Sox game to collect sound before and after the game. That was the day White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game. Elise says it was one of the best days of work she has ever had, and it helped her decide to become a sports reporter.
Her first full-time job after college was at KMIZ-TV, now known as ABC17 News, in Columbia, Missouri. She worked there for about seven months as a general assignment reporter. Then she went to Medill.
After graduate school, she took a news reporting job at WAND in Decatur, Illinois. She wanted a sports job, but she took this one to gain experience. She began helping the sports team, and she later became the morning news anchor. After two years, she moved to WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There she worked as a sports reporter and covered the Packers, Brewers, and Bucks.
Her Role at Big Ten Network
In 2017, Elise moved back to Chicago to join the Big Ten Network. She works as a football sideline reporter, a studio host, and a college softball analyst. Her years as a softball player help her explain the game in a way fans can understand.
Marquee Sports Network and Chicago Cubs Coverage
In February 2020, Elise joined Marquee Sports Network. This was just before the network launched. She started as a field reporter and studio host. She helps with game day shows before and after Cubs games. She has kept both her Big Ten Network job and her Marquee job.
Elise also hosts a Cubs minor league show called Road to Wrigley. She hosts it with Lance Brozdowski and Jim Callis. The show looks at the Cubs’ top young players. In 2024, she also hosted a Friday football show called Bear Essentials with Tom Waddle, which looked ahead to Chicago Bears games.
She has also worked as a game analyst. In June 2021, she was the lead color analyst for an Iowa Cubs game on Marquee. The Iowa Cubs are the Cubs’ top minor league team. Marquee said it was her first game analyst job with the network.
Career Achievements and Recognition
Elise has had some big “firsts” in Cubs broadcasting:
- 2022: She became the first woman to be a TV analyst for a Cubs game.
- 2023: She became the first woman to be a radio analyst for a Cubs game.
- 2024: She was the game analyst in the first all-female TV broadcast in Cubs history. The date was July 7, 2024, against the Angels. The team was play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins, field reporter Taylor McGregor, and Elise. You can read the announcement from Marquee for more.
Elise has also been part of award-winning work. In 2023, Road to Wrigley won a Chicago/Midwest Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for a live sports program. It also won a national award for Best New Sports Show. You can read more in this Marquee news post. Elise herself was also nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding On-Camera Talent group for the 2022–23 season.
Is Elise Menaker Married?
Elise has not shared any public details about being married. No official source, such as Marquee Sports Network, Big Ten Network, or Cornell Athletics, names a husband or partner. The same goes for children.
The posts she shares online are mostly about work, such as Cubs games and Big Ten broadcasts. Some gossip websites make claims about her love life, but they do not give proof. It is best to wait until Elise shares news herself.
How Old Is Elise Menaker?
Elise has not shared her exact birth date or birth year in any official source we could find. We know she graduated from Cornell in 2010. Most people who finish college that year were born in the late 1980s. So she is most likely in her late 30s. This is only a guess, not a fact.
What Is Elise Menaker’s Net Worth?
Elise’s net worth has not been shared publicly. Marquee Sports Network and the Big Ten Network do not tell the public how much their on-air staff are paid. Some websites list a number, but they do not say where it came from. For that reason, we will not post a number here.
We do know that she holds two main TV jobs at the same time. She also hosts shows and works as an analyst. Those jobs are likely her main sources of income.
Related Topic :
Jaime Feld: CAA Co-Head of TV Talent and Wife of Kevin Zegers
