From Hardwood to Headlines: Dani Klupenger ’09 Finds Her Voice in Sports Broadcasting

When Dani Klupenger ’09 chose to attend Central Catholic, she wasn’t just thinking about high school; she was thinking about competition, commitment, and the kind of community that would challenge her to rise. “I knew I wanted to play high school basketball at the highest level with a really good team,” she says. “Central Catholic was the best fit.”

Central Catholic turned out to be more than just a good fit; it was a launchpad. Dani made the varsity basketball team as a freshman and later shared the court with her younger sister, Morgan ’12. “I was very fortunate to get to play for Sandy Dickerson when I was at Central Catholic,” she says. “I had an incredible basketball experience in high school, and it’s all because of her.”

Her talent and drive led her to Stony Brook University in New York, where she played Division I basketball, appearing in 98 games and starting 36 over her four years with the Seawolves. But Dani had ambitions beyond the court. A journalism
major, she had long known she wanted to be on television, and she was determined to forge a path in sports broadcasting.

In high school, Dani took every opportunity to speak publicly, running for student council and joining Students4Students. That confidence carried her through college. At Stony Brook, she approached the athletic department with a bold pitch: she wanted to create and host a web show covering all of the school’s sports. They were hesitant, but her perseverance won them over, and she spent two years hosting and producing the show herself.

That show caught the attention of a Stony Brook alum who worked in athletics at the University of Tennessee, and just like that, a door opened. Dani was offered a role producing and hosting features for Tennessee Athletics and the SEC Network.

From there, her career took off. She worked for the St. Louis Rams and then the Los Angeles Rams during their high-profile move west, later joining NBC Sports Northwest to cover the Seattle Seahawks. She entered the sports gambling space as a host for FanDuel, a move that proved prescient. “I got into the media of sports gambling
before it really blew up,” she says. “There weren’t a lot of women talking about sports gambling at the time.”

Most recently, Dani was based in Chicago, anchoring a daily show for Bally Sports while simultaneously hosting for The Tennis Channel. That role has taken her all over the globe–to Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Toronto, and Turin–as she covers prestigious Masters 1000 tournaments.

Despite her success, Dani is candid about the challenges. “I have lost jobs. I have not been hired for jobs. People have told me my dreams were too big,” she says. “But what we learn at Central Catholic is that your faith will help you in the toughest times. I lean on my faith and I lean on my family, and I’ve had some incredible experiences with their help.”

When we caught up with Dani for this interview, she was back at home for a few days after spending two whirlwind weeks in Miami, just before heading off to Europe for another month. Her career is still on the rise, powered by talent, tenacity, and the values that first took root at Central Catholic.