Reilly moves from SI to ESPN

It was when Rick Reilly ('81) was a sophomore at the School and already a sports writer at the Boulder Daily Camera that Professor Ardyth Sohn told him he was "better than sports," Reilly said.

And he hasn't forgotten it.

Reilly, who will leave Sports Illustrated for a job at ESPN in January after 22 years, began a recent column titled "It Isn't Just a Game" with the story he often tells.

"When I was a sophomore in college, working on the town newspaper, a professor took me aside and said, 'You need to get out of sports. You're better than sports.'"

"I still get that crap," Reilly wrote. He goes on to list "I love sports because ...."

Reilly said he got several messages from people who claimed they had given him the same advice, but he said it was Sohn, and he told her in an e-mail message, "I remember it like it was yesterday!"

"I was trying to encourage him to go into political writing" Sohn said. "I did say something like that to him in front of the whole class." Sohn, now a professor and director of the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Reilly was so talented a writer that any number of journalism instructors could have made the comment.

But, she said, "I'm glad he didn't take my advice." They are back in touch, and she said she's invited him to teach at UNLV.

"For the record, he's probably the best writer I've ever had in class. CU can be really proud of him," Sohn said.

Reilly said he will take six months off and travel the world, then begin at ESPN in June. He will write a column for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com on alternating weeks.

Reilly said he will also appear as an essayist on ESPN's "SportsCenter." For ABC Sports, he will cover golf's major tournaments and the Ryder Cup.

"Then I will have the occasional interview show probably once a month, and that's it," Reilly said in an e-mail message to the School. "That's my deal. I'm very excited to try something new."