Michele Steele

Michele Steele is a correspondent for ESPN based in Chicago. A versatile journalist, she has covered some of the biggest stories both in the Midwest and nationally for SportsCenter, NFL Live, Outside the Lines and ESPN’s digital platforms.

Most recently, Steele led coverage of the weekly Monday Night Football game for SportsCenter, providing postgame and live reports from the MNF city the morning after each game. She was the first reporter on the scene at the hospital after the devastating injury to Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier – leading coverage from Cincinnati for three days following the injury.

Prior to ESPN, Steele was an anchor for Bloomberg Television and the network’s first full-time sports reporter. Her interviews at Bloomberg included NCAA President Mark Emmert and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in addition to numerous owners and team executives. She started her career in sports covering Tiger Woods for Bloomberg TV in 2009, ultimately following his return to The Masters that year.

Steele earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science in journalism from Columbia University. A native of Chicago, she is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), the Alliance Francaise and the Young Professionals group of the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Steele speaks fluent French and conversational Tagalog, the language of the Philippines.

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 About the Axthelm Memorial Program

The Pete and Bonnie Axthelm Memorial Program was established in 1994 at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to acknowledge and recognize the life of Pete Axthelm and his sister Bonnie. Every year this program awards a scholarship to an outstanding Marquette journalism student with an expressed interest in sports journalism.

Pete Axthelm was one of America's foremost sports journalists. Although a Yale alum, he created ties to Marquette University while working on his critically acclaimed book, "The City Game," which covers the glory and tragedy of New York basketball. While writing and researching his book, Axthelm sought the expertise of such Marquette notables as Al McGuire, Pat Smith, and Dean Meminger.

During his distinguished career as a sportswriter and columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek, Pete established a reputation as a gifted journalist. His knowledge of sports combined with his journalistic skills led him to sports commentator positions for NBC and ESPN.

Bonnie Axthelm was among the highest ranking women at 3M Europe during her lifetime. She began her notable career as a secretary at Media Networks Incorporated, eventually rising through the company to hold the top position of Executive Director of Corporate Marketing and Public Affairs. Bonnie’s name was added to the memorial scholarship in after her death in 1998.

Past Axthelm Scholarship Recipients
Past Axthelm Lecture Speakers
Selected Works by Pete Axthelm