‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom attended University of Kentucky

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie who is missing in Arizona, attended the University of Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Kernel.

Nancy Guthrie attended the University of Kentucky and is a Kentucky Kernel alumna, Jack Guthrie, editor-in-chief of the Kernel in 1963, told the Kernel.

“Nancy Guthrie, who attended UK under her maiden name Nancy Long, was a staff member and society editor at the Kernel in 1963,” the Kernel reported. Jack is unrelated to Nancy.

Guthrie, 84, from Fort Wright in Northern Kentucky, was last seen at her Tucson home at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday and was reported missing the next day by her family. Police say they believe she was taken against her will.

In 2017, the Herald-Leader reported Guthrie, a co-host on “Today” since 2012, revealed during the morning TV show that her parents met on a blind date at a University of Kentucky’ men’s basketball game.

“’She’s quick. She’s smart. She’s well-read. She’s curious about everything. She’s daring and adventurous,’” Savannah Guthrie told TV station WCPO in 2022. “She’s willing to jet off anywhere, and I really do mean jet. She once got in an F-16 in Fort Wright’,” the television station reported.

“Savannah said both of her parents grew up in Kentucky. Her father was stationed in Melbourne, Australia, when Savannah was born. They then returned to the U.S., moving to Tucson,” WCPO reported.

The Facebook Alumnae group for Notre Dame Academy, a Catholic High School in Northern Kentucky posted Wednesday: “We ask our community to join us in prayer for the safety and protection of our 1959 alumna, Nancy Long Guthrie, who is missing in Arizona.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 12:07 AM.