20) Rece Davis
Years Active: 1995-Present
Before Davis was dropping nicknames and catchphrases into the college football lexicon, he was spinning Seinfeld lines into SportsCenter highlights. Yes, you know the one. Davis spent many years as a SportsCenter anchor (and many years toiling next to Lou Holtz and Mark May) before finally being rewarded with a promotion to become the new host of College GameDay this year.
19) Josh Elliott
Years Active: 2006-2011
There may be no better example on this list of “right man, right time” than Josh Elliott coming to SportsCenter when ESPN’s flagship show launched their first live morning editions in 2008. It’s hard to remember, but at the time Elliott was rather unknown to most SportsCenter viewers. Elliott blossomed as a morning SportsCenter anchor and was so good that he moved into a starring role at Good Morning America along with fellow SC alum Robin Roberts. However, things haven’t quite worked out for Elliott since then. He’s a free agent after his high profile move to NBC didn’t go as planned. A return to where he did some of his best work at ESPN might be the best thing for everyone.
18) Mike Tirico
Years Active: 1991-1997
Mike Tirico has grown into one of the best play by play men in America, but he got his start at ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor in the early nineties. Yes, that’s him anchoring SportsCenter… when Shaquille O’Neal was in college! (Now we all feel old….) Tirico eventually left the anchor desk where he would go on to be ESPN and ABC’s lead announcer for everything from golf’s majors to Monday Night Football.
17) Neil Everett
Years Active: 2000-Present
SportsCenter went through a period of time where ESPN shied away from established partnerships so as to not create the larger-than-life auras of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann. But through the 2000s, Neil Everett and Stan Verrett have developed a partnership and a chemistry together that harkens back to SportsCenter’s glory days. The pair have capably led the program’s late night move to Los Angeles for the last seven years.
16) Trey Wingo
Years Active: 1997-Present
If there’s someone who might be the bridge from the golden age of SportsCenter in the mid-late nineties to what modern ESPN has become, it might be Trey Wingo. He came to ESPN when SportsCenter was focused on personality and catchphrases and is now one of the most respected anchors at the network. Wingo hosts a myriad of NFL programming and seems to be the heir apparent to Chris Berman’s Bristol throne.
Comments are closed.
About Matt Yoder