Following in the footsteps of many of his colleagues, J.A. Adande is leaving ESPN, he confirmed to the Big Lead. The move comes after he became the Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern just last year.
"Mainly, I couldn't do two jobs at once," Adande said. "Last year, when I started the Northwestern job, I really wasn't ready to say I used to work for ESPN. I wasn't quite ready to give that up. But now, I'm at a place where I just want to focus on Northwestern. I really want to wake up in the morning and obsess over one thing."
Adande first appeared on ESPN in 2002, but became a full-time staffer in 2007 as a columnist and regular on Around the Horn.
He hasn't ruled out the possibility of keeping a position like fellow Around the Horn panelist Kevin Blackistone, and he could remain a part-time fixture on the program.