Pamela Donielle Oliver (born March 10, 1961) is an American sportscaster known for her work on the sidelines for various National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) games. Oliver was born in Dallas, Texas. With her father being in the United States Air Force, Oliver and her family moved several times during her childhood, Texas, Michigan, Washington, California and Florida. Instead of watching children’s shows, Oliver preferred watching sports.
As a teenager, Oliver lived in Niceville, Florida, where she attended Niceville High School. In high school, Oliver excelled in tennis, basketball, and track and field. After graduating, Oliver enrolled at Florida A&M University, where she continued her track endeavors, becoming a college All-American in both the 400-meter and the mile relay. Oliver earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and graduated in 1984.
Oliver began her broadcasting career at WALB in Albany, Georgia in 1985 as a news reporter. The next year, Oliver moved to WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Alabama. After that stop, Oliver moved to WIVB-TV in Buffalo, New York in 1988. Two years later in 1990, Oliver moved to WTVT in Tampa, Florida, where she began her career as a sports anchor in 1991. Oliver moved to KHOU-TV in Houston, where she continued to be a sports anchor.
In 1993, Oliver joined the sports television network ESPN. In 1995, Oliver joined Fox Sports, where she worked as a sideline reporter with the network’s number-one broadcast team, Pat Summerall and John Madden. In 2005, Oliver joined TNT as a sideline reporter for their NBA Playoffs coverage.
On July 14, 2014, it was announced that the 2014 NFL season would be Oliver’s last as an NFL sideline reporter. She would be moved to the network’s #2 NFL broadcasting team, while Erin Andrews would take over as sideline reporter on the #1 crew. In early 2015, Fox extended Oliver’s sideline reporting job with the #2 team through the 2016 season.