Mina Kimes did not grow up under stadium lights. The daughter of a U.S. military veteran and Korean immigrant, she graduated from Yale and built an award-winning career as an investigative journalist at Fortune and Bloomberg before ESPN came calling in 2014.
Since then, she has become one of the network’s most versatile voices, a senior NFL analyst, senior writer, podcast host and television contributor who appears regularly on “NFL Live,” “First Take,” “Get Up” and “Around the Horn.” She also hosts “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny,” one of ESPN’s top football podcasts.
With anticipation building towards the 2026 NFL season, Kimes announced a significant new role outside of sports broadcasting.
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She has been named host of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, set to air on ION on May 27 and 28.
For Kimes, who is a three-time school spelling bee champion herself, this is big news, and she took to Instagram to share her excitement on Tuesday.
“Beyond thrilled to be a part of this year’s @scrippsnationalspellingbee! Growing up, these kids were my idols (pic 2 is me at my second grade bee 🐝), and I can’t wait to celebrate them in Washington DC this month.”
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s longest-running educational competition, having launched in 1925 with a mission to promote literacy and a love of language among students. The televised semifinals will air from 8-10 p.m. ET on May 27, with the finals following on May 28.
Both competitions will air on ION, which reportedly reaches 128 million households across pay television, connected TV and over-the-air broadcasts. The broadcast will also feature a refreshed production vision from Embassy Row, the award-winning company led by 10-time Emmy-winning producer Michael Davies.
