Michael Todd Tirico (; born December 13, 1966 in
Queens,
New York) is the lead broadcaster for
ESPN's presentation of
Monday Night Football, and second lead broadcaster for ESPN's presentation of the
NBA. In addition, Tirico hosts a multitude of programming on
ESPN/
ABC. He was the host of
ABC's
golf coverage from
1996 to 2007, and continues in that capacity for ESPN's
U.S. Open,
Masters and
British Open golf coverage. He also joined ESPN's broadcast team for the
2009 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, and is a studio host for the
2010 FIFA World Cup. Tirico was formerly a
play-by-play announcer for
college football on both
ESPN and
ABC.
Biography
Career at ABC and ESPN
Tirico joined ESPN in
1991 as a
SportsCenter anchor, after 4 years as Sports Director at
CBS affiliate
WTVH-TV in
Syracuse, New York, during his undergraduate years at
Syracuse University. Tirico is noted for his versatile nature and the variety of assignments he has handled for
SportsCenter, Tirico has handled the play-by-play for ESPN's Thursday night college football package (1997 to 2005), college basketball coverage (1997 to 2002), NBA coverage (2002 to present), and PGA golf coverage for ABC (1996 to 2006). Tirico has also hosted studio coverage of various ESPN and ABC covered events, including a stint on ESPN's
Monday Night Countdown (previously known as
NFL Prime Monday) from 1993–2001 and ABC's NBA studio shows. He also broadcasts NBA games on
ESPN/
ABC. He anchored the
2009 U.S. Open (tennis).
Broadcasting partners
Tirico has been paired in the college football booth with
Tim Brant,
Terry Bowden,
Mike Gottfried,
Kirk Herbstreit,
Lee Corso, and
David Norrie. His partner in NBA coverage have included
Tom Tolbert,
Hubie Brown, and
Greg Anthony, and he has worked with
Curtis Strange,
Judy Rankin,
Nick Faldo, and
Paul Azinger in PGA coverage. He has worked with
Len Elmore on college basketball coverage. Tirico is also partners with
Jon Gruden and
Ron Jaworski on
Monday Night Football.
On April 21 and 22, 2007, he appeared as a guest host, filling in for Michael Wilbon, alongside Tony Kornheiser on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.
Radio career
Tirico hosted his first show from
WAER radio in Syracuse, N.Y., the station where he started his sports broadcasting career, on the campus of
Syracuse University. Fellow Orange alum
Bob Costas was his first guest. On September 20, 2007, Tirico began hosting the short-lived
Mike Tirico Show on
ESPN Radio from 1–3 p.m. weekdays (Eastern time). The show filled the empty seat left by
Dan Patrick. During the spring of 2008, the title of
The Mike Tirico Show, which featured
Scott Van Pelt as a co-host, was changed to
Tirico and Van Pelt. On May 19, 2009, Tirico announced he would be leaving the show to focus more on his television play-by-play duties, and the name of the show became
The Scott Van Pelt Show.
Controversy
In 1992, Mike Tirico was suspended by ESPN for three months for unwelcome sexual advances towards female coworkers. In his book
ESPN: The Uncensored History, published in 2000, New York Times reporter
Michael Freeman reported several instances of sexual harassment by Mike Tirico
including attempted groping and sexual solicitation
.
External links
Mike Tirico's ESPN Bio
Tirico Set to Join Elite Group on 'MNF'
Category:American television sports announcers
Category:American sports radio personalities
Category:Golf writers and broadcasters
Category:American sportspeople of Italian descent
Category:National Basketball Association broadcasters
Category:National Football League announcers
Category:People from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Category:People from Queens
Category:Syracuse University alumni
Category:College basketball announcers in the United States
Category:College football announcers
Category:1966 births
Category:Living people
Category:Tennis commentators
