Florida State grad Taylor Tannebaum explains how alma mater helped her land at ACC Network

Taylor Tannebaum is back in the ACC.

The 2013 Florida State graduate exclusively told the Democrat that she has accepted an on-air talent job with ACC Network.

Tannebaum will be one of three co-hosts for the new ACC PM show, joining Mark Packer and former North Carolina/Carolina Panthers safety Tre Boston. The weekday show, which airs from 4-7 p.m. ET and begins next Monday, will heavily focus on ACC football.

It will be broadcast from Packer’s basement studio in Charlotte.

“This has been something that I’ve been eyeing for a really long time,” said Tannebaum on joining ACC Network. “When the network launched years ago, I was working in Alabama at the time. What I was doing a lot down there was SEC stuff.

“But being an ACC product and coming from Florida State, when they announced they were launching the network, I was like, ‘You know, that’s where I could see myself going next.’”

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That dream is now a reality for Tannebaum, who spent the last four years as a sports anchor/reporter at WTHR in Indianapolis. She became the station’s first female sports anchor in 2018 and covered the Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers and various local events.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in media production at FSU, Tannebaum joined WTVY in Dothan, Ala. and covered Alabama and Auburn. Then she spent two years in Huntsville, Ala. as a sports anchor/reporter before landing at WTHR.

With ACC PM, Tannebaum likes the potential of the co-hosting trio.

“It’s just a mix of three different but great personalities,” Tannebaum said. “Three different perspectives as well, which is kind of the best part. You have a player. You have Pack, who knows everything there is to know about the ACC. I don’t know that there isn’t anything you could ask him. He’s quite literally an encyclopedia.

“And then there’s me, who provides not only a female perspective, but a student who grew in the ACC in my young, formative years from 18 to 22. I went to games myself as a fan. …

“So it’s going to be a lot of fun. I knew the second that I came and auditioned in the basement that Pack was a great person to vibe with at a table and chat with as friends or cohorts. And now we get to be able to show everybody else and bring everybody else in on a much bigger scale.”

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FSU experience influenced Tannebaum

Tannebaum recounted the time she covered FSU’s 2013 Pro Day for ESPN3.

Her interview with former Seminole cornerback Xavier Rhodes still stands out.

“I will never forget it,” Tannebaum said. “Funny enough, working in Indianapolis, he got picked up by the Colts in 2020. I got to cover him, and we joked about the fact that I interviewed him. Now he’s a professional.

“Look at where we are now in our careers. The fact that at that point, we were both just trying to make our careers happen. So that was a pretty full circle moment.”

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At FSU, Tannebaum worked for multiple outlets that she credits for helping her develop and learn more about the sports broadcasting industry. Tannebaum’s degree also gave her access to know people like Tom Block, the pregame host and sideline/locker room reporter for all Seminole football games.

“Tallahassee and my experience at FSU really got me into this business,” Tannebaum said. “I already had a love for sports. But it helped accentuate that, being so involved with those sports programs. And it was so much access that it gave you a real idea of what this career would be like.”

‘Seizing the opportunity’

As a Fort Lauderdale native, Tannebaum has been to a football game in Coral Gables because of its close proximity.

But Tannebaum has yet to make it to any other non-FSU football stadium in the ACC. She should now have the opportunity to experience each venue.

“I’m excited to get out there and go see Blacksburg,” Tannebaum said. “And go see Charlottesville. And go see Chapel Hill and all these incredible places.”

Tannebaum knows she has achieved one of her biggest goals. Still, she has more that she wants to accomplish.

“For me, it’s stopping and realizing that I have put in a lot of hard work to get here, and this is what I always envisioned. And it’s here,” Tannebaum said. “So seizing the opportunity. It’s one thing to get the job. But it’s another thing to succeed at it.

“I am really mostly excited about the fact that they are believing in myself, Tre Boston and Mark Packer, who has been a staple, to take a new show and a new idea, and put it on air. They are believing in us to make it a product. To make people want to watch it.

“There is something really exciting about making something your own and building something from the ground up. And I’m honored to have that opportunity to be able to put my face and my name on something that they believe in, and they believe in us that we can make it happen.”

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2022 FSU football schedule

Aug. 27: Duquesne, 5 p.m. (ACC Network)

Sept. 4: vs. LSU, New Orleans, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)

Sept. 16: at Louisville, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Sept. 24: Boston College

Oct. 1: Wake Forest

Oct. 8: at N.C. State

Oct. 15: Clemson

Oct. 29: Georgia Tech

Nov. 5: at Miami

Nov. 12: at Syracuse

Nov. 19: Louisiana

Nov. 25: Florida, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State product Taylor Tannebaum joining ACC Network, ACC PM show