Katherine Munro playing tennis and softball at John Carroll University
This story first appeared on .
STAMFORD, Conn. – If you've been watching the 2024 Paris Olympics, you may have been watching the work of a Blue Streak without knowing it.
Katherine Munro is a John Carroll Softball, Tennis, and Sports Information alumna who is very involved in the coverage of the Olympics. The television veteran works as a tape producer on E! Network and on CNBC on weekends.
Munro's time at John Carroll prepared her to help cover the top sporting event of the summer. In fact, this is her ninth time working on NBC's Olympics coverage, for which she's won three Emmy Awards. And the Olympics are just one piece of her work experience, which includes coverage of several Super Bowls, NFL playoff games, the US Open Tennis Championships, Kentucky Derby, the NBA, Atlantic 10 basketball, and so much more.
This is the story of how a chance visit to University Heights led to a successful career in television that has taken Katherine Munro '05 across the country and the globe.
Erie to Cleveland
In the summer of 2000, fate led Katie Munro to John Carroll.
Educated in Catholic school her whole life, Munro wanted to attend a Catholic college or university. And so, taking a suggestion from a friend, she decided to visit JCU in the summer before her senior year. She took an unofficial visit on a Sunday, getting a tour and meeting with coaches.
Munro was immediately blown away by the beauty of the campus, including "the green grass, the blue and gold colors, it was beautiful." And John Carroll would offer an opportunity to play her two top sports, softball and tennis.
After graduating from Villa Maria Academy (which closed in 2022 to consolidate with Cathedral Prep), Munro began her collegiate career in the fall of 2001. Her upperclassmen teammates on the softball and tennis teams help her get acclimated. In meeting with the coaches, she had to pick a priority in the spring, since schedules overlap. Munro picked softball, as "my value on the team was greater," though she was also valuable on the tennis team atop the lineup, too.
Munro thrived in her first spring season in University Heights. Katie started all 38 games at third base for the softball team, often hitting in the cleanup spot. She finished second on the team with a .340 batting average, adding 14 RBIs, and winning the team's Newcomer of the Year award. Meanwhile, when she was able to play tennis, Munro occupied the #1 singles and #1 doubles spot in the lineup.
But just as fatefully at the end of her freshman year, Chris Wenzler '90 offered Munro a job.
A Wenzler Warrior
Chris Wenzler discovered Munro via one of her softball teammates, Lauren Gambatese '02, who worked for Chris and recommended he seek out Munro.
"I was not thinking about my career as a freshman, I was just trying to get good grades and win at sports. That changed when I started working for Chris my sophomore year," says Munro. "He was one of the first people to invest in me and embolden me."
Munro started working a few hours per week at the start of her sophomore year, taking a liking to writing. But Chris pushed Katie outside of her comfort zone, and she thrived as a utility player. Knowing a career in broadcasting might be in the cards for her, Chris enlisted her as a public address (PA) announcer for soccer games and swim meets, and also taught her how to do stats in StatCrew for basketball. Munro also wrote for The Carroll News.
And of course, plenty of odd jobs were mixed in, such as making copies and running stats. Munro loved every minute, even when working weekends.
"Chris saw my gifts that I didn't know I had, he was so great at discovering each student's gifts. He encouraged me and provided a warm and comfortable environment to grow," Munro recalls. "The office was a safe place where gifts were always celebrated. Working for Chris was always a wonderful experience, because he was always so friendly and kind."
One particularly fond memory for Munro was working an Ohio Athletic Conference Championship swim meet.
"We desperately needed to get to a printer to print off press releases," remembers Munro. "We hunted everywhere on campus for a printer that worked. We finally found one, but it was always a team effort with whatever we needed to do. I'll never forget that."
Beyond any one event or experience, Munro remembers just how great of an experience it was to work for Chris.
"Chris was a one-man army and always took on a lot, but he dedicated time to helping students learn and grow. We never hesitated to help and wanted to give 100% effort all the time because he did the same for us," says Munro. "Plenty of people who didn't work for him would come by his office. He didn't have the time, but he still made time for every person. He was just a good dude. The best."
Adversity and Triumph
While her sophomore year opened up a new avenue for her budding professional career, Munro also experienced a setback athletically.
After playing both tennis and softball as a first year, a foot injury forced her to choose one sport as a sophomore. Munro decided to focus on softball. While she missed out on tennis, Munro did enjoy a solid sophomore campaign.
Munro started 24 games during the Blue Streaks' 24-15 campaign that tied the program record for wins and marked the top winning percentage in program history (.615). Munro hit .306 as a reliable infielder, though she only had 36 at-bats.
Entering her junior year, Munro made the difficult decision to focus on tennis.
"As I looked at the work, softball came more naturally to me, but I looked back at the countless hours I had put into tennis since starting as an abysmal player at 10 years old," explains Munro. "It was too hard to give up tennis. Plus, the softball team would be fine without me. It worked out, as we had a great tennis season."
Munro played a critical role during the magical 2004 campaign.
The Blue Streaks roared to an 8-1 record in OAC play, emerging with a three-way tie with Ohio Northern and Otterbein. It marked JCU's first-ever OAC regular season title. In the OAC Tournament, John Carroll rolled to a 5-0 win over #9 seed Muskingum, and then held off #4 seed Capital, 5-3. This set up a classic championship against Ohio Northern.
Munro, battling through a nagging injury, lost the first set of her singles match. Bruce Thomas, then the head coach, approached her during the second set as her efforts were sagging. Thomas explained what was happening on the other courts. The idea that the title bout would come down to her quickly sank in.
And so, Munro battled back. The junior star won the second set, and then conquered her foe in the third and deciding set. Thanks to Munro's winning effort, the Blue Streaks emerged with a 5-4 victory over the Polar Bears and the program's first OAC Tournament crown in the team dual meet format (which began in 2002) and seventh overall.
"In that moment, I felt validated," recalls Munro. "That's what I trained all those years for."
That moment would stand as the crowning achievement of Munro's John Carroll career. While the fall of her senior year went well, the spring did not. During spring break at Hilton Head, Munro threw out her back. The injury caused her to miss the whole year and still gives her some problems.
However, Munro recounts plenty of happy memories and lessons learned from her time playing sports at JCU.
"Life is not a straight path, you have to overcome adversity," says Munro. "Athletics helps you have perspective to know you can get through this. You figure out a plan B, C, D, and E, because you have to adjust on the fly. You can't dwell on something while the match is still going. You have to trust in your teammates, you rely on them and they rely on you. That still resonates with me today."
Finding the Path
After interning for Chris Wenzler in the sports information department in the fall of 2004, Munro mapped out a path. Under Wenzler's guidance, Munro landed on broadcast journalism.
At the time, John Carroll didn't have a ton of broadcasting opportunities. So, Munro decided she needed more education. She applied to graduate schools, narrowing down the options to the University of Miami (FL) or American University. In the end, the 12-month program at American seemed like the best route.
Her communications professors at John Carroll helped prepare her for graduate school and for the "real world." Munro remembers several defining moments.
"My communications professors were life-changing in a way of recognizing gifts," Munro says. "For example, I look back and appreciate now that one of my professors told me I would be a good teacher. At the time, I said, 'No way!' but fast forward 20 years and I coach tennis now.
"I also remember doing speech and debate with one of my softball teammates. We didn't know what we were talking about, but we did okay. The professor told us, 'You're not winning, but you're relentless and you try. Those are qualities that will be good in life.' So, I learned that life isn't always about winning and losing. All of my professors helped me take pride in my work."
American University's program proved to be a great fit, too. The first semester was spent writing, while the second semester focused on the TV component. American opened the door for an internship in DC, leading to her first job at College Sports Television (CSTV), which later became the CBS Sports Network
One of her earliest gigs involved working the National Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland, which was memorable.
"It was my first primetime solo. The person mentoring me said, 'It's no big deal, just a couple million people watching.' I had to pinch myself, but you can't let the pressure interfere."
Munro's first job at CSTV involved producing game highlights, serving as a studio logger, and later working on studio graphics. As she remembers, it was a "thankless job with no bells and whistles, but that made it easier down the road." And in networking with freelancers who did gigs for CSTV, Munro found her way to NBC.
NBC and the Olympics
As a teenager watching the 1996 Summer Olympics, Munro was enthralled.
"I was fascinated by NBC's coverage, it was always classy," she recalls. "It was really good broadcasting. I said to myself, 'I want to be an athlete competing at the Olympics!'"
Just 12 years after Munro watched the spectacle in Atlanta, she found herself at 30 Rock (NBC's 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios) working on the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics as a production assistant.
Plenty of gigs followed at NBC. Notably, Munro worked on Football Night in America, starting out as a basic logger, which involves watching and timecoding big events for highlights and stats. She gradually took on more advanced roles, editing soundbites and highlight packages. Being a sponge and learning how to do a wide range of tasks "makes you more desirable and needed" for jobs. Learning from the veterans is key.
And every two years, Munro covered the Olympics. Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, Sochi in 2014, Rio in 2016, PyeongChang in 2018, Tokyo in 2021, Beijing in 2022, Paris in 2024. And since her first games in 2008, Munro has won three Emmy Awards for Olympic coverage.
While Munro doesn't travel now for the Olympics – she's working now in NBC's Connecticut studios – she did for many of the previous Games. Some of her top memories include working the epic gold medal hockey game in Vancouver (when Sidney Crosby scored the game-winner) and working as a feature producer for diving in Rio (when the water turned green). She also wrote blogs for JCUSports.com about her 2014 experiences.
"Each Olympics is different. I go where I'm needed, as I'm diversified enough that I can do whatever," says Munro. "I like doing different tasks in different capacities in different cities. Traveling and getting acclimated to a different country is fun. But I'm a blip on a giant radar. How this comes together and is this successful every two years is mindblowing. It's neat to see how the Olympics have evolved. Sixteen years ago, everything was on tape. Now, 60-70% of NBC personnel covering the Olympics are in Connecticut. The operation is so much more efficient and evolved."
Each Olympics that Munro works on turns into a reunion, reuniting with old friends and colleagues. As Americans covering the Olympics, there's a great unity in rooting for the athletes in the red, white, and blue.
This year as a tape producer, Munro will work on the E! Network and weekends on CNBC. In this role, she's working on the studio show – cutting highlights, working with guests, and much more. And this year, the live coverage is so much more expansive.
"This is the first big year to show every sport in its entirety," says Munro. "Hopefully the fans are happy with all of the content live, and shouldn't have to hunt to find what they want to watch. Now, we get results quickly and cover the events faster, especially with the streaming on Peacock."
A Veteran of the Industry
Besides her work on the Olympics, Munro has worked as a freelancer since 2018. One of her most consistent gigs has been working at NFL Network.
For the last five years, Munro has worked training camp, preseason, and playoff games. Living in Erie certainly has its perks, most especially being within driving distance of the Browns, Steelers, and Bills. Last year, she covered the Bills-Chiefs AFC Divisional Game with a camera crew.
Another one of her favorites is the US Open Tennis Championships. Just eight days after the Olympics, Munro will work as a field producer. She'll work with a camera crew and talent to produce features for the world feed. This year, the championships are in Queens, New York, where she'll decamp for a couple of weeks.
Other highlights from her work include covering Cavaliers media day for the NBA, the Kentucky Derby, Atlantic 10 basketball, and so much more.
Above all, Munro has found a home in sports broadcasting, much like she did in the sports information office with Chris Wenzler.
"Working in sports information has prepared me so well," says Munro. "You can't specialize because you have to do a lot, and you have knowledge about all sports. In broadcasting, it's not great to specialize. The best producers know how all the pieces fit together, and being a jack of all trades is such a valuable skill. The pace of it is also relatable to sports information.
"Chris prepared you so well for working in sports. He taught you how to be well-rounded, built your self-confidence, and encouraged you along the way. As he liked to say, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Go for it and dream big."
