ESPN has tapped Beth Mowins to call the second part of a season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader in September, making her the first woman to do play-by-play duties on an NFL game in 30 years, the AP reports. The network says Mowins will team with former NFL Coach Rex Ryan when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Denver Broncos on Sept. 11.
Mowins joined ESPN in 1994 and has called college football for the network since 2005. She has also done play-by-play for locally broadcast preseason Oakland Raiders games. ESPN Senior Vice President Stephanie Druley says Mowins "deserves this opportunity." The last woman to call an NFL game was NBC's Gayle Sierens in 1987. (More NFL stories.)