Elise Jesse, the Oak Hills High School and Mount St. Joseph University alum, is leaving her hometown sports reporting job at WLWT-TV.
She's married to Mike Rehfeldt, the former University of Cincinnati basketball director of sports performance who has accepted a similar position at the University of Connecticut.
"I have decided to leave Cincinnati. It's a bittersweet moment, but I know that the next adventure will be amazing," Jesse announced Thursday on Twitter.
Does she have a TV job in a bigger market?
"I will comment further as soon as I’m allowed to do so! It shouldn’t be long! Thank you so much for taking interest," she tells me.
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When I've been told that in the past, it usually means the person is waiting for his/her new employer to announce his/her hiring. Sometimes the new employer needs time for an opening actually to occur, due to a retirement, resignation, reassignment, etc.
Jesse, who played basketball at Oak Hills, "is addicted to all things Cincinnati sports," according to her Channel 5 bio.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in communication studies in 2012. She also interned at Channel 5.
After graduating from college, she worked five months at WXIX-TV as an assignment editor, and only one year as a sports anchor/reporter at KFBB-TV in Great Falls Montana (TV market No. 192 of 210) before joining Channel 5 in November 2013.
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At Channel 5, she has anchored, written and produced weekend sportscasts at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.; co-hosted, written and produced the Sunday night Sports Rock show; co-anchored and co-produced live WLWT Blitz 5 Friday night pregame shows; and covered the Reds, Bengals, UC, Xavier and high school sports. She and Rehfeldt have one child.
Jesse has been the only woman covering sports full-time for a Cincinnati TV station since March 2019, when Aly Cohen turned down a WKRC-TV contract renewal to go home to Pittsburgh. (She's a host for Pirates pre-and post-game shows for AT&T Sportsnet.)
Here's Jesse's announcement on Twitter:
As some of you may have guessed, I have some personal news to share ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/j0DT8keTP6
— Elise Jesse (@EliseJesseTV) July 9, 2020
I have decided to leave Cincinnati. It's a bittersweet moment, but I know that the next adventure will be amazing.
I can't thank the station enough for taking a chance on me nearly 7 years ago, giving me the opportunity to work with such incredible people. My coworkers at Channel 5 are some of the brightest, most passionate people in the business and I am proud to have worked alongside them.
To all of the coaches and players that I've grown to know over the years: THANK YOU for trusting me with our stories and life experiences, your kindness, and for being a huge part of my happiness here in Cincy.
To the viewers: Thank you for embracing me and allowing me to provide you with sports news and stories.