ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit revealed on Tuesday that his wife, Alison Herbstreit, had been diagnosed with breast cancer in recent months.
His wife's health, along with a few other recent life events, was the reason he cried after Ohio State won the national championship live on the air.
Herbstreit did not reveal when Alison was diagnosed with breast cancer or what her current status is. The broadcaster has not missed an assignment with ESPN or Prime Video this season.
“I haven't really talked about this publicly. Ally, my wife, has been dealing with some things, it's been a tough year for me behind the scenes,” Herbstreit said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“My wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer, Ben [Herbstreit’s dog] dies. It's a lot of emotion. And when you do what we do, you persevere, you do your job.”
In November, Herbstreit's golden retriever Ben, after accompanying him on many road trips, died of leukemia. When a tribute was played for his dog on ESPN's “College GameDay,” Herbstreit was also overcome with emotion and cried on air.
Kirk Herbstreit said Tuesday that his wife, Allison Herbstreit, was diagnosed with breast cancer
Alison pictured with their four sons: twins Jake and Tye, as well as Zak and Chase
Herbstreit's beloved dog Ben died in November after a battle with leukemia
After Ben's death, another golden retriever, Peter, has been on football road trips.
Herbstreit's revelation came after McAfee was curious about why he was crying after the national championship game.
Herbstreit and fellow commentator Chris Fowler were assigned to check in on SportsCenter late Monday night to conclude the college football season.
Herbstreit couldn't pass the spot without getting choked and having to grab a tissue off camera. The broadcaster went through the list of reasons why he became emotional.
Before revealing his wife's diagnosis, Herbstreit spoke about another family member.
“It was almost a perfect storm for me,” Herbstreit said. 'My son had heart failure years ago. They had been talking about a heart replacement there for a while and he had to medically retire.”
'The gratitude I have for [Ohio State head coach] Ryan Day wraps his arms around Zak [Herbstreit] and keep him involved. He's almost like one [graduate assistant] with what he did.”
'And Ryan insisted on putting his arms around him, [offensive coordinator] Chip Kelly, all these guys. So there was that side of it, looking down and seeing him in his jersey after potentially replacing your heart for it.”
Zak Herbstreit joined Ohio State's roster in 2021 as a walk-on tight end. Kirk was a quarterback for the Buckeyes from 1989 to 1993.
