via Katie Feeney
Like many college students across the country, Katie Feeney spent the week after Thanksgiving studying for finals.
“Starting after this weekend, it’s go time,” the Penn State junior tells BroBible from State College, Pennsylvania. “I actually feel pretty prepared.”
Unlike most college students at Penn State, however, her weekend plans took her on the road to Atlanta for the 2023 SEC Championship game between Georgia and Alabama.
“I am Allstate’s first ever on the road college football correspondent,” Feeney explains. “I’m going to be taking my audience behind the scenes of some of college football’s biggest games.”
This is the first time this role has existed for Allstate. It means Feeney will share general road trip tips on TikTok for her fans, as well as attend the 90th Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1, featuring the #2 Washington Huskies against the #3 Texas Longhorns. On the trip down to New Orleans, she’ll use the Allstate app to provide road trip tips and real-time alerts in Allstate Drivewise and document it for her millions of followers.
“With college football conferences realigning, I imagine many fans will have to take some road trips to see their favorite teams play,” says Feeney. “Drivewise makes it so easy to find affordable gas, parking, which is always such a huge hassle going to football games. I can also save money, which I know many college students will love. If you drive safer, you can save more money on your auto insurance.”
Who is Katie Feeney?
Originally from Olney, Maryland, Feeney has a sort of double-life, unified by her presence on social media platforms. Formally, she’s majoring in sports broadcasting at Penn State. Over the years, she’s amassed a massive following on social media with candid, behind-the-scenes glimpses at major sports experiences.
In fact, Feeney is dominating the social media scoreboard and quickly becoming a household name with Gen Z sports fans. Just look at her current following on four major channels:
- 7.5 million followers on TikTok
- 3.4 million followers on YouTube
- 1.1 million followers on Snapchat
- 1 million followers on Instagram
According to Social Blade, her YouTube alone has done 43,722,000 views in the last 30 days. For some perspective, that’s more views than the entire population of Canada (38 million!) in a month. She has more YouTube and TikTok followers than several major sports leagues themselves, including the NHL (2.1 million followers on YouTube, 2.6 million on TikTok as of this writing) and the PGA (1.3 million followers on YouTube, 1.6 million followers on TikTok).
Of course, those numbers mean very little if you can’t monetize it. Katie has crushed it at monetizing her following, gaining national attention in 2021 when she made $1 million in five weeks using Snapchat’s Spotlight feature, all while a senior in high school. Now she has major agency representation in Los Angeles, and regularly inks brand deals with major companies like Allstate, CELSIUS, Lululemon, and more.
@katiefeeneyy Guess where I’m headed next🤔 #AllstatePartner #Sponsored #ad @Allstate
In a YouTube Short, Feeney describes the opportunities her social media channels have unlocked as a “dream job.” And there’s little question about why.
She’s been to the last two Super Bowls, the Army-Navy game, and traveled to numerous NFL games, as part of her social media creator gig with YouTube and NFL Sunday Ticket. When FOX Sports’ BIG NOON KICKOFF came to Happy Valley before Penn State’s home game against Michigan, Feeney was able to make content with Matt Leinart and Jenny Taft.
Katie Feeney: The first NFL social media correspondent
In 2022, Feeney became the NFL’s first social media correspondent when the Washington Commanders hired her, marking the first time in NFL history that a social media personality partnered with an NFL team.
“It’s a huge honor, especially being a woman in sports,” says Feeney. “I love being a positive influence on my audience and any other girls that want to go into sports and don’t know exactly how to do it.”
“So to be the first is crazy to even say,” she continues, describing how it shocked her family. “I remember seeing Adam Schefter tweet it, and my brother sending it to me and his friends and my family, and everyone’s like, did you see this tweet?”
Washington Commanders announced that social media influencer Katie Feeney will be the team's first-ever “Commanders
Social Media Correspondent.” The partnership is believed to be the first of its kind in the NFL.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 13, 2022
It was a validating moment. “I was like, ‘okay, now it’s real. This is happening,'” Feeney recalls.
Feeney’s accomplishments didn’t stop with making social media and broadcasting history with the NFL.
In November 2022, Feeney was invited to become a fully-credentialed White House Social Media Correspondent. She was at the White House on the day the Kansas City Chiefs visited the White House after winning the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the sports ritual on her channels.
“There’s a lot of press activity,” Feeney recalls about the day. “Being so close to players like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce during interviews is quite the experience. You see the team together, up close, and when they speak, you sense their excitement and enthusiasm. It’s fascinating to observe their reactions and hear about their time in D.C. and talk about their favorite moments during the visit.”
Feeney counts Erin Andrews among her biggest inspirations in sports broadcasting. “I’ve been close to meeting her, so hopefully I will soon. I would love to pick her brain and hear what her favorite experiences have been and what advice she has for me.”
Katie Feeney’s Rise: The Impact of Penn State on Her Journey
So how did Feeney find herself on this path, with brand deals from major companies and more social media followers on TikTok than many professional athletes, media personalities, and movie stars?
“Before Penn State, I didn’t know that I wanted to go into sports,” Feeney explains. “I was doing the social media, but I hadn’t quite figured out what my true passion was until going on the field for my very first Penn State football game. It was the White Out.”
“I couldn’t pick a better game to go to. From that point forward, I knew I wanted to go into sports.”
Like many high profile personalities on social media these days, Feeney’s lane in sports broadcasting, however, isn’t solely dependent on having a paycheck by holding up a mic flag with a network logo on it.
“I’ve been doing my own broadcast journalism from a social media perspective,” says Feeney. “Which I think is unique and could be the future of broadcasting.”
She continues: “There are so many ways to do it when you can just take videos on your phone, interview fans, interview players at Penn State.”
As a fellow Penn Stater in digital media, I’m curious how her time at our alma mater fueled her meteoric rise and swift industry climb. There’s a unique vibe at Penn State — it’s the kind of place that can ignite a fire in anyone at the crossroads of sports and culture. It’s certainly something I felt in my time there in my early 20s.
“The sports and spirit here couldn’t be a better place to not only network, but also gain that experience on the field and in the classroom,” Feeney adds.
In an era where a college degree competes with the digital hustle, Feeney bucks the trend. She champions the four-year college experience. Juggling influencer deals with Allstate and YouTube, all while diving into the sports scene to create content. She’s riding the wave of today’s professional social media sphere with a mix of smarts, savoy, and spirit.
Feeney reflects on this balance, saying, “College was never a question for me.”
Her commitment to higher education was unwavering, even as her social media influence flourished during the college application process. For Katie, pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism is more than a mere formality; it’s a vital part of her journey.
“The field of broadcast journalism is evolving and changing,” she acknowledges, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of the foundational knowledge she’s gaining, like “just learning the basics and working on my writing skills.”
“There’s so much I need to learn still, even if I go to a million different games,” Katie adds. She sees her time at Penn State as a mix of classroom theory, learning the ropes of the media business, and experiencing the palpable rush of the stadiums from the bleachers, corporate suites, or sidelines.
“There’s still a lot of room for me to grow, not only as a student, but also as a person,” Feeney adds. “I think it’s cool that I’m able to go to class and then take a road trip to a football game.”