'We can do this too': Taylor Tannebaum leaving WTHR for ACC Network but mission won't change

Taylor Tannebaum arrived in Indianapolis a few days before her 27th birthday. She moved from Huntsville, Alabama, a city of less than 200,000, to a city with nearly 900,000 people.

She did it as the first female sports anchor in the station’s history. Dave Calabro took a shot on her — not because she was a woman, but because she was going to be a star.

She covered four Indy 500s. She covered countless IU and Purdue games. She covered the Colts. She covered the Pacers.

She told stories that promoted equity — ones about the Indiana Fever and high school girls athletes overcoming the odds and excelling.

Now, she’s chasing her dream on the national stage. She began Wednesday at the ACC Network, where she will co-host “ACC PM” with Mark Packer and Tre Boston. The show will air every weekday from 4-7 p.m.

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The opportunity to work on the national stage has always been a dream for Tannebaum. The opportunity for the Florida State graduate to work for the ACC Network was a perfect fit.

“When I came into this business, I always had a dream of working for a network,” she said. “Being in local TV helped me get to this point, and Indianapolis was a huge part of that for the last four years. I'm so grateful that this opportunity came about. It's something I've always had my eye on. When they launched the ACC Network a couple of years ago, being an ACC product of Florida State, I thought, ‘That could be me. I can get there. That could be a step for me.’”

She wore a multitude of hats with WTHR — she was an anchor, a reporter, a videographer and more. Now, she’ll have the chance to focus on her passion.

“I really get to focus on my role as a TV personality, bringing you the facts and the opinions about the product,” she said. “That's what I'm most excited about.”

Her career ascent hasn’t come without challenges. She’s encountered harassment and sexism as a woman in sports media. One time, she was covering an event when a man came up to her.

“He whispered in my ear, ‘Those jeans fit you perfectly,’” she told IndyStar earlier this year. “There’s no male standing out there in jeans that someone’s going to say something to.”

But she’s also experienced support from her bosses and colleagues that has allowed her to grow.

“We're starting to get more accustomed to the fact that women aren't going anywhere, and that they do know what they're talking about,” she said.

Tannebaum got a text Wednesday from an up-and-coming woman in the sports media business. It said, “‘Thank you. Seeing you on TV in Indy really made an impact on me and showed me I can do it.”

“Seeing is believing,” Tannebaum said. “The fact that some people see, ‘Hey, there is a sports girl in Indianapolis. She can do her job and she can do it well.’ That paves the way for anyone else who wants to step into this role and anybody else who wants to get in the business period, whether it's in Indianapolis or not. Moving forward, the door is wide open for females in sports to come to WTHR, because it's happened before.”

Now that she's on the national stage, her mission hasn't changed.

"I want people to respect what I say. I'm going to make sure on my end, I'm as knowledgeable, educated and studied as possible so that the people I'm talking to never question that a female in this role can hold her own next to two really intelligent and full-of-personality men who are big in the ACC as well," she said. "I want to show people at home that we can do this too. It's the same goal, no matter where I am."

Congratulations and well wishes for Tannebaum poured in on social media when Tannebaum tweeted the news of her career change. But she’s adamant that she’ll be back for the month of May. She wouldn’t dare miss the Indy 500.

“There's nothing greater than the Indianapolis 500,” she said. “I've always been a race fan. The day you wake up for an Indianapolis 500 is just a feeling like nothing else. No matter what, it's going to be a good day. It's just the aura about it. I will forever be so grateful to cover it and I can guarantee you I will be back in May as a spectator.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Taylor Tannebaum leaving WTHR for ACC Network show, ACC PM