Mike Tirico

Play-by-Play Commentator, Host The Mike Tirico Show

Mike Tirico has handled a variety of assignments for ESPN, ESPN Radio and ABC Sports since 1991.  In 2006 he assumed one of the most high-profile positions in sports television as ESPN’s Monday Night Football play-by-play commentator, for which he garnered a Sports Emmy nomination.  Tirico works alongside analysts Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser on MNF and handles play-by-play for NBA games paired with analyst Hubie Brown on ESPN and ABC, as well as the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio.  Tirico is also ESPN’s top golf host/commentator.  In 2010, Tirico will make his FIFA World Cup debut as host of ESPN's on-site studio coverage from South Africa (June 11 - July 11, 2010), anchoring pre-, halftime and post-match shows and SportsCenter segments.

The scope of Tirico’s myriad of on-air responsibilities expanded even further in the fall of 2007 when he was named host of The Mike Tirico Show on ESPN Radio.  The entertaining sports news and discussion program launched on September 20, 2007, as Tirico hosted the first show from the studios of WAER-AM, the Central New York public radio station based at Syracuse University where he began his broadcasting career.  In May 2008, the two-hour weekday afternoon program (1-3 p.m. ET) was re-launched as the Tirico & Van Pelt Show with SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt named the co-host. The program is available on 375 ESPN Radio affiliates across the country and includes regular contributions from Kirk Herbstreit and Michele Tafoya.

Tirico has always been one of the industry’s most versatile sportscasters, covering play-by-play duties for ESPN NFL games, Thursday and Saturday college football games, college basketball, NBA games for both networks (including hosting NBA broadcasts on ABC), and golf coverage on both ESPN and ABC.

No stranger to big-time events, Tirico has certainly called his share: co-hosting Super Bowl XL Pre-Game and Post-Game shows; NBA Finals coverage for ABC Sports and ESPN Radio; the Fedex Orange Bowl; and the British Open golf championship.  He also received critical acclaim for so eloquently capturing the tone and emotion both when the New Orleans Saints triumphantly returned to the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina on MNF in 2006, and when Virginia Tech hosted its first college football game in August 2007 in the aftermath of the on-campus shootings that spring.

In April 2008, Tirico added another major to his professional golf resume when he hosted ESPN’s first two rounds of television coverage of The Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, the network’s first-ever telecast of this world-renowned event. 

Tirico joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor in July 1991, later serving as host of Monday Night Countdown during the NFL season from that show’s 1993 launch to 2001.  From 1993-1997, he anchored ESPN's College Football Scoreboard show and on November 1, 1996 he hosted the debut of ESPNEWS.  Tirico has hosted ESPN's SportsCenter coverage of the U.S. Open, the Masters and the Daytona 500.  He has also anchored coverage of the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and NFL Draft for both television and radio.  In 1998, he also appeared on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown.

In recent years, Tirico has largely left the studio to focus on event coverage.  In December 1996, he was named golf host for ABC Sports.  He worked college basketball and Thursday night college football telecasts for ESPN from 1997-2006.   His NBA assignments commenced with the 2002–03 season, when ESPN and ABC acquired their extensive schedules, including the NBA Finals on ABC and ESPN Radio. 

Tirico was an original ESPN Radio host when the network debuted in 1992 and anchored The NFL on ESPN Radio (1993-96), a New York Festival Gold World Medal winner in 1995.  He was the first host (1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons) of The NBA on ESPN Radio, which includes regular and post-season games, All-Star Weekend and the NBA Draft.  On January 1, 2004, Tirico assumed the role as voice of ESPN Radio’s weekday afternoon drivetime “SportsBeat” segments, the five-minute daily mainstay of the network since Brent Musburger launched ESPN Radio with the inaugural “SportsBeat” on January 1, 1992.

Prior to joining ESPN, Tirico worked in Syracuse, N.Y. (1987-1991). He was sports director at CBS affiliate WTVH-TV and play-by-play voice for Syracuse University basketball, football, lacrosse and volleyball for the Super Sports Network of Cook CableVision.

In 1989, Tirico was named top local sportscaster by the Syracuse Journal, and received an Associated Press New York Broadcasters award for 48 Hours with Syracuse University Football, a 30-minute documentary on the team's preparation for a game. In 1987, he was the first recipient of the Bob Costas Scholarship, given to an exceptional broadcast journalism student at Syracuse.  Tirico remains very active in alumni activities at Syracuse.  In the fall of 2007, he participated in the dedication of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications’ new building, Newhouse III. 

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