Paola Boivin, Digital Director, Cronkite News – Phoenix Sports Bureau, Professor of Practice

Paola Boivin is an award-winning sports columnist, who worked for The Arizona Republic for more than 20 years. She teaches in the Cronkite School’s growing sports journalism programs.

For the Republic and azcentral.com, Boivin covered numerous major sporting events, sharing her hard-hitting commentary and game analysis. She also told compelling human stories, giving a voice to the longshots and underdogs.

In addition to her duties as one of The Republic’s main sports columnists, she appeared weekly on sports radio, did extensive reporting for 12 News and engaged audiences on various social media platforms. Prior to becoming a regular columnist, Boivin covered sports beats, including ASU football and basketball.

When she wasn’t writing for the Republic, Boivin served as an adjunct instructor at the Cronkite School.

Boivin started writing in high school, covering sports for her school newspaper. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Boivin was a sports talk show host at KMPC radio in Los Angeles and a columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News before joining the Arizona Republic. Earlier in her career she was a sports editor at the Camarillo (California) Daily News.

She has won numerous awards from Associated Press Sports Editors and National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2018, Boivin was appointed to the selection committee of the College Football Playoff. She is the first female sports journalist to be a part of the committee, which is responsible for selecting the top four teams in the playoff and assigning them to semifinal games as well as placing the next group of teams in the remaining New Year’s bowls.