On-Air Staff
Mike Tirico
Monday - Friday: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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 and sideline reporters Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya on MNF and also serves as play-by-play commentator for NBA games on ESPN and ABC.
No stranger to big-time events, Tirico has always been one of the industry’s most versatile sportscasters. During the 2005-06 sports season alone, Tirico called the Fedex Orange Bowl and the British Open golf championship, in addition to co-hosting Super Bowl XL Pre-Game and Post-Game shows and NBA Finals coverage for ABC Sports.
The scope of Tirico’s myriad of on-air responsibilities has included play-by-play duties for ESPN NFL games, Thursday and Saturday college football games, college basketball and NBA games for both networks -- including hosting NBA broadcasts on ABC -- and golf coverage on ABC.
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 was also the anchor of 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, the NCAA Final Four, and the NFL Draft for both television and radio. In 1998, he also appeared on Sunday NFL Countdown.
In recent years, Tirico has largely left the studio and has focused on event coverage. In December 1996, he was named golf host for ABC Sports. He has worked college basketball and Thursday night college football telecasts for ESPN since 1997. His NBA assignments commenced with the 2002–03 season, when ESPN and ABC acquired their extensive schedules, including the NBA Finals on ABC.
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., from 1987 to 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.
