ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit revealed Tuesday that his wife, Allison Herbstreit, was diagnosed with breast cancer within the last few months.
His wife's health, along with some other recent events in his life, were the reason he cried after Ohio State won the national championship live.
Herbstreit did not reveal when Allison was diagnosed with breast cancer or her current status. The station did not miss any assignments with ESPN or Prime Video this season.
“I haven't really talked about this publicly, Allie, my wife, faced some things, it's been a tough year for me behind the scenes,” Herbstreit said Tuesday on 'The Pat McAfee Show.'
'My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and Ben (Herbstreit's dog) dies. It's a lot of emotion. And when you do what we do, you hang in there and do your job.'
In November, after accompanying him on many road trips, Ben, Herbstreit's golden retriever, passed away from leukemia. When his dog was honored on ESPN's 'College GameDay,' Herbstreit also became emotional and cried on air.
Kirk Herbstreit on Tuesday that his wife, Allison Herbstreit, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Herbstreit revealed diagnosis and explained why he cried after CFP title game
After Ben's passing, another of his golden retrievers, Peter, has been taking those football trips.
Herbstreit's revelation came after McAfee was curious as to why he cried after the conclusion of the national championship game.
Herbstreit and fellow commentator Chris Fowler were tasked with checking in during SportsCenter on Monday night to conclude the college football season.
Herbstreit couldn't make it through without choking and having to grab a tissue off-camera. The announcer went down the list of reasons why he got emotional.
Before revealing his wife's diagnosis, Herbstreit spoke of another family member.
“It was almost like a perfect storm for me,” Herbstreit said. 'My son had heart failure years ago. There they were talking about a heart replacement for a while and he had to medically withdraw.'
'The gratitude I have for (Ohio State head coach) Ryan Day hugging Zak (Herbstreit) and keeping him involved. It's almost like a (graduate assistant) with what I was doing.'
'And Ryan insisted on putting his arms around him, (offensive coordinator) Chip Kelly, and all these guys. “So there was that side, looking down and seeing him in his jersey after potentially replacing your heart with it.”
Zak Herbstreit joined Ohio State's roster in 2021 as a tight end. Kirk was the Buckeyes' quarterback from 1989 to 1993.