DJs

Dari Nowkhah and Mel Kiper Jr. join you every Saturday morning to cover the world of sports with the newsmakers of the day.

DARI NOWKHAH

Dari Nowkhah is currently an anchor on SEC Network, regularly appearing on  SEC Now and on Saturdays during the college football season. Additionally, he calls play-by-play for men’s basketball and baseball. Additionally, Nowkhah serves as co-host of ESPN Radio’s weekly Dari and Mel Show with Mel Kiper Jr.

Dari Nowkhah joined ESPN in June 2004 as an ESPNEWS anchor and in August 2011 was named the host of ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network based out of ESPN’s studios in Charlotte, N.C. He also previously served as a SportsCenter anchor and host of shows including Baseball Tonight and College Football Live.

Before joining ESPN, Nowkhah worked from 2002-04 as a sports anchor and reporter at KOTV, a CBS affiliate in Tulsa, Okla. Previously he served two years as sports anchor and reporter at KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Neb.

Nowkhah began his career in Kalispell, Mont., where he was sports director at KCFW-TV for two years. While there, he received a First Place in Sports Reporting in the Pacific Northwest from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Nowkhah, a native of Tulsa, Okla, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 with a degree in broadcast journalism. In 2013 he was recognized by his alma mater and named Young Professional of the Year by the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is married with three children.

MEL KIPER, JR.

Mel Kiper Jr. has served as expert analyst for ESPN’s annual NFL Draft coverage since 1984, providing in-depth scouting information on the nation’s most talented collegiate football players. His breadth of knowledge is unmatched and his pre-draft predictions are frequently the most accurate in the business, often as high as 80 percent correct in his first-round selections.

Kiper makes frequent appearances on SportsCenter, NFL Insiders and NFL Live, co-hosts ESPN Radio’s Dari and Mel, and contributes to ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He and fellow analyst Todd McShay can also be heard on the First Draft podcast.

Kiper is president of Kiper Enterprises, which he founded in 1981 while in college.

His continuous, year-long research includes watching 20 to 25 college games each week. Observing so many games throughout the season provides Kiper with even more in-depth knowledge, in addition to what he gathers through lengthy discussions with coaches, players and team executives from around the National Football League and within the college ranks.

Kiper’s likeness has also appeared in several video games including ESPN NFL 2K5, NFL Head Coach and Madden NFL 07-08.

Kiper grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended Essex Community College.