Meet Kenny Mayne. Kenny graduated from Wenatchee Valley College in 1978 and since his days as a former Knight, he has gone on to have a successful career as a sports anchor on the national stage.
A Kent, Washington native, Kenny was recruited to play football at Wenatchee Valley College in 1977 by the former Athletics Director Sandy Cooprider. “My goal was to get an education and play Division 1 football,” Kenny said. “I needed a place to get myself going toward both and I wasn’t big enough or good enough to get to D-1 out of high school.”
“Five days into camp at the University of Washington (UW), I remember making the call to coach Sandy Cooprider, who had recruited me before I decided to try Washington,” Kenny shared. “I called Sandy from a payphone and asked if his offer was still good. I’m glad I made the call – Wenatchee was a great place to work on my football and start my education.”
As the quarterback for WVC’s football team from 1977-1978, Kenny earned All-American honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). “After a good first season [at WVC], I thought I might be looking to move to a bigger school. I even took the winter quarter off, thinking I’d transfer in the spring,” he said. Kenny learned that because he had been with a D-1 school, even for five days at UW’s football camp, he had to earn his associate degree before transferring to a four-year university. “I had to take a ton of credits. I took night classes, Spanish, I took more than a full load and earned my AA to move onto the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). It taught me about persistence.”
Kenny’s favorite memories from his time at Wenatchee Valley College were a blend of "the football, the school, the town. I made great relationships with my teammates and coaches that have lasted until today. That’s almost 50 years! What’s special about WVC is simply how it was my start. I never leave out WVC when telling my college story, because it’s the place that gave me a jump start to accomplish everything that was in my future,” he said.
After graduating from UNLV with a degree in broadcasting, Kenny began his career as a reporter in Las Vegas. He returned to his home state of Washington to work as a weekend sports anchor in Seattle before joining ESPN in 1994 as a sports anchor. He went on to host "Kenny Mayne's Wider World of Sports" on ESPN.com and served as a weekly contributor to the Sunday NFL Countdown with a "Mayne Event" segment.
“Athletics keeps kids in school. They immediately have a common bond with others and the sport they play ends up being part of their education,” Kenny shared. “Everything you learn about being a good teammate is beneficial, no matter what you pursue later.” He believes that the lessons student athletes learn from being good teammates are beneficial no matter where life takes them, and strong sports teams bring communities together.
Looking back at his time at WVC, Kenny is grateful for the coaches and professors who saw something in him. “All of the coaches I played for were important in my development, but my head coach Sandy Cooprider stands out,” he said. “At a team meeting he once noted how some of us thought we belonged elsewhere in football, at a bigger program. He said that while that might be true, we’re in Wenatchee now. And he said ‘wherever you are, make that your big time. What you’re doing now is the most important thing.’ That stuck with me, and I’ve preached that same lesson to my daughters and try to live that myself.”
Kenny’s advice to students is clear: “Put your best effort in the moment and keep shooting for the moon.”
Wenatchee Valley College invites the community to attend The Mayne Event, a fundraiser for the WVC Knights Athletics program on Saturday, May 9. Kenny Mayne headlines the event with a live comedy set and a screening of his comedy documentary “Kenny Mayne’s Wiffle Ball.” The fundraiser will feature a silent auction and live music by the Whisky Trail Band and the Confluence Jazz Trio. All proceeds from the event will directly benefit student athletes and the WVC Knights Athletics program.
Individual tickets and tables are available at The Mayne Event.
Published May 4, 2026