Baylor alumna inducted into Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame

This year’s inductees into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame include a host of famous names from iconic organizations, such as Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, and leaders from NBCUniversal, Disney, Fox and Comcast.

Among them is a Baylor graduate: Valari Dobson Staab (MBA ’84), a broadcast innovator whose influence stretches over 40 years, from local television stations to regional sports networks across the nation.

Staab earned her MBA at Baylor in 1984, and she was already immersed in television when she arrived. A native East Texan, she began her TV journey in Tyler. With a focus on the TV business as opposed to a role in front of the camera, Staab’s path after Baylor took her to TV stations from coast to coast, including leadership roles in major markets like Philadelphia and San Francisco. By 2011, she had made the leap to national leadership when she joined NBCUniversal, where she continued to build on her stellar reputation in the field, earning Broadcasting & Cable’s Broadcaster of the Year Award in 2016.

In 2022, she was appointed chairman of NBCUniversal’s Local Division, making her the first executive to hold that title for the company. This role gave Staab oversight of close to 50 local NBC and Telemundo affiliates and numerous regional NBC sports networks.

In September, she was officially enshrined in the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in a ceremony hosted by actor Mario Lopez, ABC co-anchor Deborah Roberts, and ESPN broadcaster Brian Custer, making her the first Baylor alum to establish herself among television’s most successful names.

Sic ’em, Valari Dobson Staab!