Who is Curt Menefee? What to know about veteran sportscaster joining Good Day New York
NEW YORK - Good Day viewers, meet your new co-anchor!
Curt Menefee, a veteran sportscaster and FOX NFL Sunday co-host, will join GDNY beginning Tuesday, Jan. 16.
The "therapist" and "leader" of the energetic sports show will co-host with our very own New York straight-talker, Rosanna Scotto (Bianca Peters moved to co-host The Noon with Chris Welch and The 6 O’Clock News with Natasha Verma).
So, what do Good Day New York lovers need to know about Curt? For starters, this is not his first time in the FOX 5 studios!
Humble beginnings
"You look at the journey for me, it’s something that if you wrote a script, nobody would ever believe it," Menefee told FOX Sports in 2019.
He grew up as a "poor kid in Atlanta going to a public high school." He graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he not only received his Bachelor of Arts degree, but also an honorary doctorate in journalism.
"The summer after my freshman year, I did an internship, and I got paid $5 for every three hours I worked," he told FOX Sports.
Fox Sports host Curt Menefee on air during a NFC Championship game. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
His goal was to work in a top-ten market as a sportscaster before reaching the age of 30.
Early in his career, he hosted a live two-hour daily sportscast on Sports News Network, a nationwide cable sports program, as well as served as sports anchor and reporter at WISC-TV (CBS) in Madison, Wis., and WOI-TV (ABC) in Des Moines, Iowa. After that, he served as the sports director and weeknight sports anchor at KTVT-TV in Dallas, where he also hosted a daily two-hour show on "The Ticket" sports radio.
By age 29, he reached his goal when he began his career with FOX 5 NY!
Already a member of the FOX 5 family
In 1995, he arrived at WNYW-TV/FOX 5 NY and spent over five years as sportscaster for the station.
At the time, Rosanna was also anchoring the 10 O’Clock News.
(L-R) Curt Menefee, Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw and Jay Glazer attend the 2019 FOX Upfront at Wollman Rink, Central Park. (Photo by Manny Carabel/WireImage)
"How cool is it that I get to share this homecoming with the legendary Rosanna Scotto?" Menefee said. "Way back in the day, my FOX journey began in that same New York studio sitting beside Rosanna on the 10 O’Clock News. This full circle moment is a dream come true."
He called his return a "homecoming."
"When you graduated from high school or college, and you go back 20 years later, you're like, ‘The building’s the same, but it feels a little bit different,'" he said. "That's what it feels like."
FOX Sports and making his way to the Broadcasters Hall of Fame
Menefee joined FOX Sports in 1997 as a sideline reporter.
Throughout his time at FOX Sports, Menefee has served as a play-by-play announcer for the network’s NFL, USFL and NFL Europe League coverage in addition to hosting studio shows across a number of sports properties and premier events.
Most notably, Menefee has co-hosted FOX NFL Sunday -- America’s most-watched NFL pregame show for the last 29 years -- since 2007. He's joined by co-host Terry Bradshaw with analysts Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan and NFL insider Jay Glazer.
"Menefee is not just the host; he’s straightforward personality in an NFL comedy troupe," The Athletic wrote in a recent profile.
"There are six of us on the show, so there’s 19 personalities — and Bradshaw and I got 12. For Curt to be able to keep us in check like this … you know, we’re family," Glazer told the website.
(L-R) Jimmy Johnson, Jay Glazer, and Curt Menefee visit the Empire State Building in honor of 30 Years of NFL on FOX. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)
The long-running pregame show was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasting’s Hall of Fame in 2019, taking place beside "Wheel of Fortune," ’'Jeopardy!," ’'Meet the Press" and "All In The Family." At the time, Menefee described it as an "entertainment show" where "we talk about football.
"It is so much about chemistry -- we love and respect each other," he told the Associated Press. "We have a good time all year around that when we show up it is hanging out with friends."
In terms of his new Good Day host, Menefee said her FOX NFL Sunday counterpart is former analyst Jimmy Johnson.
"She can make fun of herself, she can laugh, but she can be serious and break it down for you when you need to," Menefee said. " The New Yorker in her – she can also get into it with you if she needs to."
Beyond work, who is Curt?
Menefee, 58, enjoys traveling – having visited 96 different countries – and plays the guitar and bass.
The early mornings shouldn’t be a problem for him, as he "is up by 5:30 a.m. every day for meditation with his wife, Viollette, and to work out," the Athletic wrote in the profile. "The early start also allows Menefee to call or text various sources around the NFL on the East Coast who want to communicate early in their day."
He's coming to New York City from Santa Barbara, California, but is ready to embrace an East Coast lifestyle.
"There’s no place like New York. No place," he said. "I can’t wait to get back to the energy of the city, the culture, the restaurants, the people, everything that makes it the greatest city in the world."
Tune into Good Day New York on FOX5 at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, to welcome Curt Menefee. You can also watch by downloading the FOX Local app or on fox5ny.com/live.