Sportscaster Sage Steele discusses college, career

A standing-room-only crowd filled Woodburn Hall 101 on Friday to hear Sage Steele, ESPN SportsCenter anchor and IU alumna. This is the first time she has spoken at IU since October 2007. Steele reminisced about her days as a student at IU, from her first party to studying for countless hours at the Herman B Wells Library.

The main theme of Steele’s lecture was doing your best and understanding you will never be perfect. Being open to criticism and making sacrifices will help people achieve their ultimate goal no matter what that goal may be, she said.

Steele addressed the importance of striving for your dreams and not settling for anything less.

“Since the eighth grade, I knew and announced I wanted to host SportsCenter,” Steele said.

Upon graduation in 1995, Steele began working with a television station in South Bend before moving to Indianapolis in 1997.  Her first time on television in Indianapolis was for WISH-TV’s coverage of the NCAA Final Four, which took place in Indianapolis. Despite how nervous she was, she knew that doing her best was all that she could do.

“Do I say ‘No, I can’t do it?’ No,” Steele said.

She got on camera and gave her report.

“If I ever see that (footage),” she admitted, “I’m turning the other way and running.”

Steele wrapped up her lecture by encouraging females to go for their dreams and be more concerned about criticism on what they are doing rather than what they are wearing. She told the crowd to remember the quote her father always told her,

“No matter what you choose to do with your career, remember, ‘Lord, help me choose the harder right than the easier wrong.’”