Bill Rasmussen is the co-founder and first president and CEO of ESPN.

After success in the advertising business, Rasmussen’s career in the media began at WTTT radio in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1962. In 1965, he moved to WWLP-TV, Springfield, where he spent eight years as Sports Director and two years as News Director. In 1974 he left Springfield to join hockey’s New England Whalers as Communications Director. At the conclusion of the 1977-78 World Hockey Association season, Rasmussen was fired by the Whalers. Thus began the pursuit of the ESPN dream, incorporating the fledgling network on July 14, 1978. It began broadcasting fourteen months later, at 7 p.m. on September 7, 1979.

Rasmussen founded “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” in 1979 with his son, Scott Rasmussen. He has been called “The Father of Cable Sports” by USA Today (September 1994). Rasmussen launched world’s first 24-hour cable television network, ESPN, where he pioneered such innovations as “SportsCenter,” wall-to-wall coverage of NCAA regular season and “March Madness” basketball, and NFL draft coverage.^{[citation needed]}