ESPN's Erin Andrews among contestants on 'Dancing With the Stars'

Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter who grew up in the Tampa Bay area, will be among those competing on the spring season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Andrews, 31, has some dancing experience, having been on the Dazzlers, the University of Florida's dance team that performs at basketball games.

The daughter of News Channel 8, investigative reporter Steve Andrews has been with ESPN since 2004 and is arguably the network's most popular football sideline reporter.

She will be joined in the "Dancing" competition by a "Baywatch" babe, an astronaut, a gold-medal figure skater, a controversial realty show star and an actress with a history of being labeled a "prima donna."

Host Tom Bergeron and former finalist Melissa Rycroft revealed the cast Monday. It includes Pamela Anderson, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and reality stars Kate Gosselin and Jake Pavelka as well as former "90210" co-star Shannen Doherty.

Also competing for the mirrorball trophy will be: gold-medal figure skater Evan Lysacek, singer Nicole Scherzinger, football star Chad Ochocinco and actors Aiden Turner and Niecy Nash.

"Dancing With the Stars" returns March 22.

On Tuesday morning, the dancing pairings were announced:

• Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

• Aldrin and Ashly Costa (formerly Ashly DelGrosso)

• Anderson and Damian Whitewood (new professional)

• Doherty and Mark Ballas

• Gosselin and Tony Dovolani

• Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya

• Nash and Louis van Amstel

• Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke

• Pavelka and Chelsie Hightower

• Scherzinger and Derek Hough

• Turner and Edyta Sliwinska

Andrews is rebounding from being the victim in a widely publicized stalking crime last year in which she was unknowingly videotaped in the nude through a peephole in a hotel. The videos were posted online and a Chicago man, Michael Barrett, was arrested and has pleaded guilty to interstate stalking and faces a 27-month prison sentence to be handed down on Monday.

Andrews attended Bloomingdale High School and began her career with Florida Sports Network as a freelance reporter from 2000-01, before covering the Tampa Bay Lightning for the former Sunshine Network from 2001-02.

She faces formidable competition in Lysacek who recently became the first American man since Brian Boitano to win the Olympic gold in Vancouver. Another athlete, Ochocinco, who plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, is known for his creative touchdown celebrations.

Athletes have typically done well on the hit show, with Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and gymnast Shawn Johnson all winning in previous seasons. Former football stars Jerry Rice and Warren Sapp, and current Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor have also been runners-up.

"It's definitely one of our strongest cast lineups ever," said executive producer Conrad Green. "Pound for pound, it should be really fascinating watching."

Green said the recipe for a great cast is "part hope, part luck, part skill, part research." The show's staff has been courting many of the newly announced contestants for months, he said.

Gosselin, of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" fame, is expected to draw a lot of interest. Her marriage to Jon Gosselin dissolved on national television after he was caught cheating on her.

She revealed on "Good Morning America" today that she and Dovolani will be doing most of their practicing in her Pennsylvania home.

The mother of eight said, "There's going to be a dance floor in my basement, so when they
[the kids] are at school, obviously I'm going to be dancing nearby or in the basement. When they're in bed at night, I'll be dancing in the basement."