After a year-long break from journalism, Dana O’Neil is back doing what she loves.
O’Neil, best known for her expertise in college basketball, now covers a range of sports. She writes for CNN Sports, continuing a long and prestigious career that has included stops at the Philadelphia Daily News, ESPN.com, and The Athletic. She also served as president of the United States Basketball Writers Association.
O’Neil left sports writing in the fall of 2024 to join Villanova, where she was hired as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communication. She returned late last year to join CNN.
We recently caught up with O’Neil to discuss her new role and other topics.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
How is this journalism job different than your previous ones?
Dana O’Neil: “There’s a lot of freedom. When I spoke with my now editor about the job, the idea was to go out and tell good stories about whatever interests me, to stretch my brain as much as I want in terms of enterprise. But also to get out and cover the big tentpole events that sports writers should be covering.
“I went to the PGA Championship last month. I went to the College Football Playoff. I went to the Olympics in February. I will be doing a little bit of the World Cup. So, it’s kind of a catch-all, if you will. The world is sort of my oyster, which is both insanely intimidating and fun at the same time.”
How did this opportunity come about?
“I had gone to Villanova for about a year, and for a number of reasons, it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It just wasn’t working out. I missed sports writing. I was trying to figure out my way back in, but I also wanted to be careful because I didn’t want to just take a job. Brendan Quinn from The Athletic and I have been friends for years. He called me because Kyle Feldscher, who’s my editor now, knew Kyle from Detroit. The two of them had talked a little about CNN hiring somebody. Brendan mentioned me and connected Kyle and me, and lo and behold, here I am. I guess I owe Brendan a beer or two.”
A woman with a vision, even if the vision wasn’t about being a woman. On @reredevaux, barn ceilings and chasing greatness. https://t.co/P05cw65Lpa
— Dana O’Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) May 9, 2026
Why did you leave The Athletic?
“I think ‘bored’ is overstating it, but I felt I wasn’t challenging myself anymore. This was no fault of anybody at The Athletic. This was purely internal. I covered college basketball in some capacity for 30 years, and I got to the point where I thought I didn’t need to interview Bill Self. I knew what he was going to say. It just felt rote. I was struggling to find a way to reinvigorate myself. When Villanova presented an opportunity, it seemed really interesting, completely uncomfortable, and out of my wheelhouse. So, I tried it. I said, it didn’t work out.”
What prompted you to return to journalism?
“I missed writing. I’m one of the weird people, I guess, in journalism who actually likes the miserable craft of writing. I can relax and lose myself in it. I missed writing stories. I missed talking to people and finding interesting angles. I missed that feeling you get in your belly when you talk to somebody, and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is going to be great. I can’t wait to write this story.’ I just missed all of that. So, yeah, this was a great opportunity.”
What happened at Villanova?
“The job, it’s no fault of anyone. It was sort of a comedy of errors. I got hired by an athletic director whose last day at Villanova was my first day. He had created this job. It did not exist prior to, and sort of helped target me for the job. And then when he left, the job existed in his brain, and I had never done it. So, I couldn’t say, ‘This is what my job is,’ and they had never had it, and they couldn’t say, ‘This is what your job is.’ And there was a lot of transition as they were looking for a new AD, and the basketball program was struggling. There was a lot going on at Villanova at the time, and worrying about Dana’s job sanity and job description wasn’t top on the priority list.”
The best backyard in golf https://t.co/iQ1zawJnVc
— Dana O’Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) May 16, 2026
What have been some of your favorite stories you have written for CNN Sports?
“I got to write a story about the roots of Indiana football. The Olympics are always incredible. I really enjoyed both Alysa Liu and Mikaela Shiffrin. I talked to Alysa Liu. I had gone to the Olympic summit in January. I thought she was utterly charming and interesting, and so completely out of the cookie-cutter box of figure skating. I found her fascinating. And so, when she won, I was excited to write that story. Yeah. It’s all been fun. I went to the PGA and followed Bryson DeChambeau when he stunk, and that was equally fun.”
Which sport has taken you the furthest out of your comfort zone?
“I don’t know anything about curling. That’s uncomfortable, but I think everybody’s in the same boat when you’re covering a sport like that. College football, it’s not that I don’t know it; I know it very well, but you’re surrounded by people who have been covering college football and only college football, like I covered college basketball. So, there were a lot of people prancing around the media room who knew what they were doing and had a lot more context than I did. The same felt true, certainly at golf. But I do think sometimes it might be an advantage to be a person who’s coming at it fresh and new because you’re not cynical and burned out by the storylines.”
What was your inspiration behind writing about the Nova Knicks?
“Jalen Brunson, who is the king of New York. I know what he went through when he wasn’t on the court and Ryan Arcidiacono was. I know what Josh Hart went through in high school. And I know what Mikal Bridges went through while waiting for his turn. And you juxtapose that against where college athletics is right now, where nobody wants to wait their turn, where nobody wants to struggle, and where it’s much easier to run to something new than to stick with something hard.”
“I just felt like all of these college kids want to be Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges. If they would just look at what Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges went through, maybe they might exhale a little. We might solve some of the problems in college sports. It won’t happen, but that’s my kind of dream.”
While folks meet in D.C. to discuss the state of college athletics, the @NovaMBB Knicks offer a blueprint on how to succeed, should anyone want to follow it. https://t.co/OYKSa2X5Tu
— Dana O’Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) June 3, 2026
What will you be doing during the World Cup?
“I’m going to L.A. next week for the U.S.’s first game next Friday. If you want to talk about being uncomfortable, that will probably be the most uncomfortable I’ve been in the history of my sports writing career, because what I know about soccer you can put in like the smallest of symbols. Like, I get the sport. I understand that. But I don’t have a whole lot of context for which country it matters more to. It’s tricky for me. But that said, I think the one thing I know I can write about is a spectacle. So, this will be a spectacle when the U.S. plays in SoFi next Friday night. That will be a spectacle. So, I can write about the spectacle.”
Have you made plans yet to attend Duke vs. Michigan at loanDepot Park in Miami?
“Not yet. I mean, that’s the best. I will say that’s the one cool thing. There are so many good games now. The non-conference season used to kind of stink. I give the sport credit for finally giving us something to sink our teeth into. But yeah, heck, if I can be there, I’ll be there.”
About Michael Grant
Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.