Elise Menaker has become one of the most recognizable faces in Chicago sports television, known for her work on Marquee Sports Network and Big Ten Network. Fans who watch her cover the Chicago Cubs often want to know more about the person behind the microphone, including her relationship status, age, background, and how she built her career. This guide pulls together verified details from her employers, award records, and public interviews so you get an accurate picture rather than recycled guesswork.
Elise Menaker Wikipedia
Elise Menaker does not currently have a dedicated Wikipedia page, which is common for regional sports broadcasters even when they have national-level accomplishments. Because of this, most of what circulates online about her comes from network biography pages, sports media interviews, and awards archives rather than a single centralized source. This article draws on those primary sources, including Marquee Sports Network staff pages, Big Ten Network profiles, Cornell Athletics records, and the Chicago/Midwest Emmy database, to build a reliable snapshot of her life and career.
Who Is Elise Menaker?
Elise Lauren Menaker is an American sports broadcaster, host, reporter, and analyst. She is best known for two roles she holds at the same time:
- Studio host and reporter for the Chicago Cubs on Marquee Sports Network
- Sideline reporter, softball analyst, and studio host for the Big Ten Network
A former Division I softball standout, Menaker later played professional softball in Sweden before transitioning into broadcast journalism. She has since become a genuine trailblazer in baseball media, breaking multiple gender barriers in Cubs broadcasting and earning an Emmy Award along the way. Her career blends athletic credibility with journalism training, which is a big part of why Cubs fans and sports media insiders trust her analysis.
Is Elise Menaker Married? Husband, Dating History, and Children
Elise Menaker keeps her personal relationships almost entirely out of the public eye. As of now, there is no verified, on-record confirmation that she is married, engaged, or currently in a relationship, and no husband has been publicly identified through her official channels or credible interviews. She also has no publicly known children.
This level of privacy is intentional. Menaker’s public presence, including her social media accounts, is focused almost exclusively on her broadcasting work, the Chicago Cubs, and her family of origin rather than her romantic life. A number of gossip style websites list conflicting claims about a husband or engagement, but none of these are backed by a verifiable source, so readers should treat any such claim with caution until Menaker addresses it herself.
Family Background
Menaker grew up in a close, sports-loving household in the Chicago area. Her father took the family to Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field on a regular basis, often riding the L-train together, and that tradition is frequently cited as the spark for her lifelong connection to the team she now covers professionally. She has an older sister and a younger brother, and she occasionally shares family moments on her personal social media accounts. Her parents remain a visible part of her online presence, though she has kept most other family details private.
How Old Is Elise Menaker? Age and Birthday
Menaker’s birthday falls in late October, a detail she has referenced publicly. However, her exact birth year has never been officially confirmed by her or her employers, and different secondary sources list conflicting years, ranging from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Because of this inconsistency, we are not publishing a specific age as verified fact. If you see a precise age listed elsewhere, treat it as an estimate rather than a confirmed figure unless it is sourced directly to Menaker.
Elise Menaker’s Height, Weight, and Body Measurements
Reported height figures for Menaker vary between sources, and there is no single number that has been confirmed directly by Menaker or an official team profile in a way that resolves the discrepancy. Her weight and other body measurements are not publicly disclosed anywhere reliable. Given how often broadcast personalities are misrepresented with fabricated stats online, we would rather flag this gap honestly than publish a number we cannot stand behind.
What Is Elise Menaker’s Educational Background?
Menaker’s academic path directly shaped her broadcasting career. She attended New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois, a school known for producing high-achieving alumni across entertainment and media. From there, she enrolled at Cornell University, where she was a standout member of the softball program while also studying communication. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, and her contributions to the softball program were significant enough that Cornell later inducted her into its Athletics Hall of Fame.
Her combination of collegiate athletics and communication studies gave her a rare dual foundation: she understands the game from a player’s perspective while also having the formal training to break it down for an audience, which is a major reason analysts and producers value her on live broadcasts.
Elise Menaker’s Career
Early Sports Reporting
Before she became a familiar face on Cubs broadcasts, Menaker built her foundation in local television news. She interned at a television station in Illinois after finishing college, where she covered live sports news, including Mark Buehrle’s perfect game for the Chicago White Sox in 2009. In 2011, she took a general assignment reporter role at KMIZ-TV in Missouri, where she shot, wrote, edited, and produced stories for daily newscasts. That role also had her covering major breaking news events, including a historic blizzard, a severe heatwave, and tornado coverage out of Joplin, experience that sharpened her skills well beyond sports.
She also spent time playing professional softball in Sweden, an experience that kept her connected to competitive athletics even as she was building her media career.
Big Ten Network and Marquee Sports Network
Menaker returned to her home region in 2017 to join the Big Ten Network, where she has worked as a football sideline reporter, softball analyst, and studio host. In February 2020, ahead of the network’s official launch, Marquee Sports Network hired her as an on-air personality to create feature content and serve as a reporter and host for Chicago Cubs coverage. She has held both roles simultaneously ever since, which is part of what has made her such a consistent presence across Chicago sports television throughout the year.
Pioneering Broadcasts and Emmy Win
Menaker has repeatedly made broadcasting history during her time with the Cubs organization:
- In 2022, she became the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a Chicago Cubs game.
- In 2023, she became the first woman to serve as a radio analyst for a Cubs broadcast.
- She has also taken part in all-female MLB broadcast crews, working alongside other prominent women in sports media to call live Cubs games.
Her Emmy recognition came through Road to Wrigley, a Marquee Sports Network show she hosts alongside analysts covering the Cubs’ minor league prospects. The program won a Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement for a Live Sports Program in 2023 and has continued to earn nominations in subsequent years. She has remained the show’s host through its later seasons, continuing to guide fans through the Cubs’ farm system alongside pre and post game coverage on the main Marquee broadcast.
What Is Elise Menaker’s Net Worth and Salary?
Elise Menaker has not disclosed her exact net worth or salary publicly, and neither Marquee Sports Network nor Big Ten Network releases individual talent compensation. Various online estimates place regional sports broadcasters with her level of experience and dual network role somewhere in the mid six figure range for career earnings, but any specific number attached to her name should be understood as an unverified estimate rather than confirmed fact.
Income Sources
What can be reasonably confirmed is the structure of her income, based on her known professional roles:
- On air compensation from her ongoing Marquee Sports Network contract covering the Chicago Cubs
- A separate role and salary from Big Ten Network, where she works across football and softball coverage
- Hosting fees tied to Road to Wrigley and other Marquee studio programming
- Potential appearance fees from podcasts, guest interviews, and speaking engagements related to her broadcasting work
Holding two major broadcasting roles at once is relatively uncommon in regional sports media, and it is a strong indicator of her value to both networks.
Elise Menaker Social Media Presence
Menaker is active on social media, primarily using her accounts to share Cubs coverage, behind the scenes broadcasting moments, and occasional personal updates involving her family. Her handle across major platforms is consistently listed as EliseMenaker, and fans looking for real time updates on her Cubs coverage, Road to Wrigley episodes, and Big Ten Network work will find her most active there during the baseball and college football seasons.
Fast Facts About Elise Menaker
- Full name: Elise Lauren Menaker
- Profession: Sports broadcaster, host, reporter, and analyst
- Known for: Marquee Sports Network (Chicago Cubs) and Big Ten Network
- College: Cornell University, B.A. in Communication
- Athletic background: Cornell softball standout, Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame member, professional softball player in Sweden
- Notable achievement: First woman to serve as a Cubs television analyst (2022) and first woman to serve as a Cubs radio analyst (2023)
- Awards: Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy Award winner for Road to Wrigley (2023)
- Marital status: Not publicly confirmed
- Net worth: Not publicly disclosed
Conclusion
Elise Menaker has built a genuinely rare career path, moving from Division I and professional softball into breaking news reporting and eventually into a dual role covering both the Chicago Cubs and Big Ten athletics at the same time. Her Emmy winning work on Road to Wrigley and her history making moments as a Cubs analyst have made her one of the more respected names in regional sports broadcasting. What has not changed is her approach to privacy. She keeps her personal relationships out of public view, so questions about a husband, dating history, or children remain unanswered by design rather than by oversight. As her career continues to grow, that balance of professional visibility and personal privacy looks set to remain a defining part of how she operates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elise Menaker married?
There is no public confirmation that Elise Menaker is married. She has not identified a husband or spouse through any verified channel.
Does Elise Menaker have a boyfriend or partner?
Her current relationship status is not publicly known. She keeps her dating life almost entirely private.
Does Elise Menaker have children?
No, Elise Menaker does not have any publicly known children.
How old is Elise Menaker?
Her birthday is in late October, but her exact birth year has not been officially confirmed, so a precise age cannot be verified.
What college did Elise Menaker attend?
She attended Cornell University, where she earned a B.A. in Communication and played softball at a Hall of Fame level.
What is Elise Menaker’s net worth?
Her exact net worth has not been publicly disclosed. Any specific figure circulating online is an unverified estimate.
What teams and networks does Elise Menaker work for?
She works for Marquee Sports Network, covering the Chicago Cubs, and for the Big Ten Network, covering football and softball.
Has Elise Menaker won any awards?
Yes, she won a Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy Award in 2023 for her hosting work on Road to Wrigley.
What historic moments has Elise Menaker been part of?
She became the first woman to serve as a Cubs television analyst in 2022 and the first woman to serve as a Cubs radio analyst in 2023.
Where is Elise Menaker from?
She grew up in the Chicago area and attended New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois.
