Who is Melissa Stark and when did she join NBC Sunday Night Football?

THERE IS a familiar face who will join NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football this season.

The new NFL campaign began on September 8 when the defending champion LA Rams was humiliated in his own home by Buffalo Bills.

4

4

4

Attention now turns to the action of the weekend with a host of big games across the US.

Fans will note that Michele Tafoya is no longer a part-time reporter for NBC after shifting her focus to politics this summer.

Melissa Stark has taken over – and the 48-year-old is more than qualified for the job.

With more than 30 years of sports broadcasting experience, Stark is no stranger to the NFL and joined ESPN in 1996 after graduating from the University of Virginia.

She served as a correspondent for SportsCenter and was a regular contributor to the Sunday NFL Countdown.

In 2000, Stark partnered with ABC Sports as a senior sideline reporter for their Monday Night Football coverage.

And the Baltimore native had the best seats in the house after reporting from the sidelines at Super Bowl 37.

Stark left ABC in 2003 for NBC, where she was national correspondent for The Today Show and host on MSNBC Live.

And in 2011, she joined NFL Network, where she still hosts their show, NFL 360.

Almost twenty years later, Stark returns to her original sideline position with her return leg on 9/11.

Melissa shared a throwback pic from her original side job in the early 2000s.

She captioned the snap: “Seems like it was just yesterday. So excited to be back…”

Stark is joined on NBC’s reporting by Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth.

She currently resides in Rumson, New Jersey with her husband Mike Lilley and their four children.

4