Rece Davis has been an indispensable part of ESPN’s coverage for a variety of sports during his 25 years at the network, and both sides plan to keep it that way.
ESPN announced on Monday that Davis, 55, has agreed to a multi-year extension. He told the Associated Press that the contract will take him through his 10th season hosting College GameDay. Going into his seventh season this year, that apparently means he has a four-year-deal.
Davis joined ESPN in 1995 following local sportscaster stints in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Columbus, Georgia; and Flint, Michigan. His stint in Bristol began with hosting ESPN2’s NBA 2Night, before moving to auto racing shows RPM 2Night and RPM 2Day. Additionally, he hosted soccer and horse racing coverage while also working in the SportsCenter anchor rotation.
Some good news today: ESPN re-signs veteran studio host and play-by-lay commentator @ReceDavis Talented and versatile, yes. But just a wonderful human. The kind of guy that adds to everything he touches. https://t.co/z9GIxp9xEI
— Chris LaPlaca (@espn_chris) March 1, 2021
Becoming a key presence on ESPN’s college football studio coverage, Davis eventually took over as host of College GameDay in 2015 when Chris Fowler left the show to become ESPN and ABC’s top college football play-by-play broadcaster. He’s held that role ever since.
Davis is also a signature part of the network’s college basketball coverage, hosting the hoops version of College GameDay and calling games during the season while anchoring coverage of the NCAA Tournament Men’s Final Four. Additionally, he has hosted the NBA Draft for the network and led ABC’s NFL Draft program last year.
Those hosting duties will include soccer this summer, as Davis will host coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship.
Related: Rece Davis in, Stuart Scott out for NBA Draft coverage
“I believe I have the best job in sports television, but when you’ve been doing anything for a while there comes a period of evaluation, I guess, to see whether there are things you would like to pursue,” Davis told the Associated Press’s Ralph D. Russo.
“And for me, I still very much wanted to host College GameDay and to still have the opportunity to host some significant events along with that from time to time. Fortunately for me, our place was able to provide all of those things.”
Third clip, with some Rece Davis pushback: "If you're being facetious, that's perfectly fine, but I want to give you a chance to clarify there, because I don't believe that for a second." pic.twitter.com/JNZ8bYbWy5
— The Comeback NCAA (@TheComebackNCAA) December 2, 2020
Davis also showed recently that he’s not just there to tee up the analyst. During ESPN’s coverage of the College Football Playoff rankings, he pushed back at analysts Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack for implying that schools (particularly Michigan) were using COVID-19 as an excuse to avoid tough opponents.
No word on whether or not terms of this new deal with ESPN will include a bunch of “Fighting Rece Davises” t-shirts. He should at least get a box of those, right?