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Mike Tirico

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Mike Tirico
Tirico in 2024
Born
Michael Todd Tirico

(1966-12-13) December 13, 1966 (age 57)
New York City, U.S.
EducationSyracuse University
OccupationSportscaster
Years active1987–present
Employer(s)Meredith Corporation (1987–1991)
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. (1991–1996)
The Walt Disney Company (1996–2016)
Comcast (2016–present)
TelevisionWTVH (1987–1991)
ESPN/ABC (1991–2016)
NBC Sports (2016–present)
Spouse
Deborah Gibaratz
​
(m. 1991)​
Children2

Michael Todd Tirico (/tɪˈriːkoʊ/; born December 13, 1966)[1] is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's Sunday Night Football, having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play announcer on ESPN's Monday Night Football.[2] Tirico has called a multitude of sports in his career, including the NBA, NHL, college football and basketball, golf, tennis, and World Cup soccer.

Tirico left ESPN after 25 years with the network when his contract expired in mid-2016, and was subsequently hired by NBC Sports. Tirico debuted during NBC's coverage of the 2016 Open Championship and has since served as the network's lead host for golf coverage.[3]

Since joining NBC Sports, Tirico has become lead primetime host of the Olympics on NBC,[4] was the lead play-by-play for Notre Dame Football on NBC,[5] host of Triple Crown races on NBC,[6] was the host of NBC's Football Night in America,[7] and was the host of NBC's coverage of the Indianapolis 500[8] and hosted NBC's coverage of the Stanley Cup.[9]

Early life and education

[edit]

Tirico was born in New York City to an Italian American mother and an African American father.[10] He grew up in the borough of Queens, graduating from Bayside High School.[1] In 1988, he graduated from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.[11][12] At Syracuse, he was the first recipient of the Robert Costas scholarship.[13]

Career

[edit]

ABC and ESPN (1991–2016)

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Tirico joined ESPN in 1991 as a SportsCenter anchor,[14] after four years as sports director at CBS affiliate WTVH in Syracuse, New York, during his undergraduate years at Syracuse University.[15] Tirico was noted for his versatile nature and the variety of assignments he handled for SportsCenter. Tirico was the first host seen on ESPNews.[16] Tirico handled the play-by-play for ESPN's Thursday night college football package (1997 to 2005),[17] college basketball coverage (1997 to 2002),[18] NBA coverage (2002 to 2016), and golf coverage for ESPN/ABC (1997 to 2015). Tirico 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 to 2001 and ABC's NBA studio shows. He also broadcast NBA games on ESPN/ABC and play-by-play for the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio. He anchored the 2009 U.S. Open (tennis) and co-anchored the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2016 (his last assignment at ESPN/ABC). Tirico was one of the subjects covered in Mike Freeman's 2000 book ESPN: An Uncensored History, where accounts of misconduct involving him sexually harassing and stalking at least six women led to an employment suspension for three months in 1992.[19][20]

NBC Sports (2016–present)

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On May 9, 2016, after a leak the prior month, it was officially announced that Mike Tirico would join NBC Sports effective July 1, 2016.[21] Tirico signed off for the last time on ESPN on June 30, 2016, during the conclusion of that day's coverage of the UEFA Euro 2016 soccer tournament.[22] Tirico's first on-air appearance on an NBC property came during the 2016 Open Championship on NBC's Golf Channel, calling play-by-play for the first three hours of first and second round coverage. Tirico moved to the studio host role in the afternoons on both Thursday and Friday, and he hosted all on the coverage on NBC proper over the weekend.[23]

Tirico served as a studio host and contributor for NBC's broadcasts of the 2016 Summer Olympics from Rio de Janeiro in August.[21] Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated suggested that Tirico could potentially succeed Bob Costas as the primetime host of NBC's Olympics coverage. NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus explained following the 2014 Winter Olympics that the division had begun to "think about what life after Bob might be, whether post-Rio, post-Pyeongchang, post-Tokyo, whenever he does not want to do it anymore." Deitsch also felt that Tirico's experience in radio could allow him to contribute to the NBC Sports Radio network.[24]

Sports Business Journal initially reported that Tirico would serve as NBC's lead play-by-play announcer for Thursday Night Football (which was expanding to NBC during the upcoming season), and was likely to be a future successor to Al Michaels.[24] The NFL later stated that its contract with NBC required that the network use its lead play-by-play commentator for all primetime broadcasts nationally over-the-air.[25] In the meantime, Tirico called the two preseason games allocated to NBC, hosted Football Night in America on-site[26][27] and was placed on play-by-play for NBC's first three Notre Dame college football games to fill in for Dan Hicks, due to Hicks' conflicts with his lead play-by-play role on NBC's golf coverage, including the 2016 Ryder Cup. Tirico would join Hicks to host Sunday coverage of the event.[28][29]

Consequently, he only called to two late-season games in the Thursday Night Football package produced for NFL Network, held on a Saturday and Christmas Sunday respectively, with Doug Flutie and Tony Dungy.[30][31] In November 2016, NBC announced that Tirico would perform play-by-play with Cris Collinsworth on three Sunday Night Football games (including the Thanksgiving primetime game) and one Thursday Night Football game, filling in for Al Michaels. Michaels had requested time off due to NBC's increased NFL workload.[30][32]

On February 9, 2017, Bob Costas announced that he would be retiring as the primetime host of NBC's coverage of the Olympics, and that Tirico would replace him beginning at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Tirico also replaced Costas as studio host for NBC's NFL coverage and Football Night in America.[33][34][35][36]

On May 31, 2017, it was announced that Mike Tirico would permanently replace Al Michaels as the play-by-play commentator for all of NBC's Thursday Night Football games.[37] Starting that year, he took over the role of Tom Hammond in Triple Crown coverage[38] and became full-time as the play-by-play announcer for Notre Dame football.[39]

Tirico skipped Super Bowl LII in order to focus on preparing for the 2018 Winter Olympics, which began the following Friday, but contributed to NBC's pregame coverage from Pyeongchang.[40] In the 2018 NFL season, after losing Thursday Night Football to Fox, Tirico was assigned to NBC's Thanksgiving game, joined by his Football Night in America colleagues Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison.[41][42] He also called two NFL Network Special games in December produced by Fox Sports.[43]

On February 20, 2019, Tirico called his first NHL game on NBCSN's Wednesday Night Hockey, between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, joined by Eddie Olczyk on color commentator and Brian Boucher as the "Inside-the-Glass" reporter. Although he has served as studio host for selected NHL broadcasts, this marked his first broadcast as commentator.[44] His performance was well received by viewers and sportswriters.[45] Starting in January of that year, he hosted both the 2019 NHL Winter Classic and 2020 NHL Winter Classic.[46][47][48]

In a similar move to 2016, Tirico filled in for Al Michaels on a few Sunday Night Football games during the 2020 season. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NBC decided to give Michaels 3–5 "bye weeks", in order to minimize travel.[49][50] One of those weeks was due to Michaels failing to pass NBC's COVID-19 protocols. He also worked one of NBC's two Wild Card games, albeit remotely, also due to COVID-19 protocols.[51] In addition, Tirico had planned to work NBC's Thanksgiving game, but it was postponed to Sunday. Tirico then called the originally planned Sunday night game with Tony Dungy and Kathryn Tappen. Michaels had planned to work the postponed game, but the former game was postponed again to Tuesday, so NBC kept Tirico on duty for the planned Sunday night game, but also placed him back on duty for the game that was later postponed to Wednesday.

Tirico hosted both the 2022 Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl LVI, traveling to Los Angeles part-way through the Games to anchor Olympics coverage from outside SoFi Stadium on the weekend of the Super Bowl.[52][53][54]

NBC announced in July 2024 that the NBA would return to the network in 2025 after a 23 year absence. Tirico has been named the main play-by-play announcer for NBA games on NBC.

Broadcasting partners

[edit]

Tirico has been paired in the college football booth with Tim Brant,[55] Terry Bowden,[56] Mike Gottfried,[57] Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and David Norrie. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Tirico has served as play-by-play for Notre Dame Football on NBC, partnering with Doug Flutie and later Tony Dungy. In 2021, Drew Brees joined NBC Sports as Tirico's partner for Notre Dame games and on Football Night in America with Tirico and Dungy. His partners in NBA coverage have included Tom Tolbert,[58] Hubie Brown, and Greg Anthony.[59] His color commentators for golf coverage were Curtis Strange,[60] Ian Baker-Finch,[61] Nick Faldo,[62] and Paul Azinger.[63] He has worked with Len Elmore on college basketball coverage. Tirico worked with Jon Gruden on Monday Night Football and also the Outback Bowl (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014) and Orange Bowl (2011 and 2012).

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.[64]

Tirico currently teams with Cris Collinsworth for Sunday Night Football on NBC.

Radio career

[edit]

Tirico hosted his first show from WAER radio in Syracuse, the station where he started his sports broadcasting career, on the campus of Syracuse University.[65] Fellow Orange alum Bob Costas was his first guest. On September 20, 2007, Tirico began hosting the short-lived The Mike Tirico Show on ESPN Radio with co-host Scott Van Pelt (later renamed Tirico &Van Pelt in May 2008), replacing Dan Patrick in its previous timeslot. On May 19, 2009, Tirico announced he would be leaving the show to focus more on his television duties; the show would carry on as The Scott Van Pelt Show, with Ryen Russillo becoming the new co-host.

Awards

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In 2017, Tirico won the Marty Glickman Award for Leadership in Sports Media from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.[13]

Personal life

[edit]

Tirico and his wife Debbie, a Michigan native, have two children. The Tiricos have lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, since 1999.[12]

He has famously stated that he has seen pictures of his father and immediate family, all of whom are of Italian ancestry. "The only contact I had growing up was with my mom’s side of the family. And they are all as white as the refrigerator I’m standing in front of right now."[66] In regard to a genealogical test to see if he has a black ancestor, he said "Yeah. I’d like to find out the truth at some point, so I can answer questions for my kids,” but made it clear he did not feel any urgency.[67] In September 2022, Tirico acknowledged that his father is African American.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Lage, Larry (August 12, 2006). "Monday Night's New Voice". The Herald-Palladium. p. 8B. AGE: 39 (Born Dec. 13, 1966 in New York.)
  2. ^ "Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden to call MNF". ESPN. February 17, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "NBC names Mike Tirico host of 2016 British Open coverage". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Macur, Juliet (July 15, 2017). "Mike Tirico Would Like to Talk About Anything but Mike Tirico (Published 2017)". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Rosenthal, Phil (August 14, 2017). "Mike Tirico takes over as NBC's Notre Dame football announcer". Chicago Tribune.
  6. ^ "MIKE TIRICO SUCCEEDS TOM HAMMOND AS A HOST OF NBC SPORTS GROUP'S TRIPLE CROWN HORSE RACING COVERAGE BEGINNING WITH 2017 KENTUCKY DERBY". April 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "Mike Tirico new host of "Football Night In America". USA Today.
  8. ^ https://www.1075thefan.com/news/indycar/mike-tirico-officially-announced-host-nbcs-indy-500-coverage [dead link]
  9. ^ "MIKE TIRICO".
  10. ^ a b "Mike Tirico reveals most 'un-Italian' thing about him, confirms Al Michaels vegetable aversion". www.audacy.com. September 7, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  11. ^ Carroll, Lloyd (May 28, 2009). "Coming up next in TV land". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Baumgardner, Nick (October 7, 2011). "Ann Arbor's Mike Tirico gets to introduce the Lions to America on 'Monday Night Football'". Ann Arbor News. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  13. ^ a b Dabbundo, Anthony (November 15, 2017). "NBC broadcaster, Syracuse University alumnus Mike Tirico receives sports media award". The Daily Orange. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  14. ^ "Mike Tirico: Monday – Friday 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM". ESPN Radio AM1260: The Score. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009.
  15. ^ "Alumni Picks – Mike Tirico". Foursquare: Syracuse University. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  16. ^ Fang, Ken (June 29, 2016). "Mike Tirico's last day at ESPN is Thursday, 25 years to the day he joined the network". Awful Announcing. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  17. ^ "Mike Tirico (profile)". ESPN Media Zone. December 2, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012.
  18. ^ "ESPN Sets Announcer Pairings for 2011-2012 College Basketball Season". Sportsmediajournal.com. November 3, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  19. ^ "Here Are Those Tirico Stories We Hinted at Last Week". August 2006.
  20. ^ "Where's the outrage about the rest of the NBC NFL crew?". January 21, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Mike Tirico Set to Join NBC's Olympics Coverage". Variety. May 9, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  22. ^ "Mike Tirico leaves ESPN". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  23. ^ "NBC names Mike Tirico host of 2016 British Open coverage". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  24. ^ a b Deitsch, Richard. "Mike Tirico's move will cause major changes at NBC, ESPN". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  25. ^ "Al Michaels, not Mike Tirico, will be calling NFL games on Thursday for NBC". New York Daily News. August 20, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  26. ^ "Mike Tirico will be play-by-play voice for NBC's NFL preseason games". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  27. ^ "NBC, THE ONLY NETWORK WITH TWO PRIMETIME NFL PACKAGES, NAMES BROADCAST TEAMS FOR 2016 NFL SEASON". NBC Sports Pressbox. August 29, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  28. ^ "Media Circus: Mike Tirico on his future with NBC's NFL coverage". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  29. ^ Brady, Erik (September 8, 2016). "NBC's Mike Tirico gets a first this weekend". USA Today. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  30. ^ a b "Syracuse University alum Mike Tirico to call NFL games on NBC". Syracuse.com. November 16, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  31. ^ "Tirico, Flutie to call a pair of Thursday night games". NBC Sports. August 29, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  32. ^ Perez, A.J. (November 16, 2016). "Mike Tirico to replace Al Michaels on four NFL broadcasts on NBC". USA Today. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  33. ^ Brady, Erik (February 9, 2017). "Bob Costas steps down as NBC host of Olympics; Mike Tirico to replace him". USA Today. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  34. ^ Brennan, Christine (February 9, 2017). "Brennan: Bob Costas has been the face of the Olympics for Americans". USA Today. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  35. ^ Lewis, Jon (August 29, 2016). "Tirico to Host Football Night in America, Costas Moves to Thursdays". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  36. ^ "MIKE TIRICO NAMED STUDIO HOST FOR "FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA"". NBC Sports Pressbox. August 20, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  37. ^ "Tirico To Call "Thursday Night Football" For NBC This Season". Sports Business Journal. May 31, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  38. ^ "2017 Kentucky Derby: Mike Tirico succeeds Tom Hammond". NBC Sports. April 25, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  39. ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "Mike Tirico takes over as NBC's Notre Dame football announcer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  40. ^ "Why NBC's Mike Tirico will be skipping the Super Bowl in Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  41. ^ "Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison to call Thanksgiving Falcons-Saints game, following Emeril/Trombone Shorty pregame". Awful Announcing. November 15, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  42. ^ "NBC to use studio personnel to announce Thanksgiving game". USA Today. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  43. ^ "NFL Network sets Week 15 and 16 broadcast teams, including three-man booth of Curt Menefee, Nate Burleson and Steve Mariucci". Awful Announcing. November 6, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  44. ^ "NBC's Mike Tirico, Ann Arbor resident, will call first NHL game on Feb. 20 in Detroit". Detroit News. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  45. ^ "With video: Mike Tirico earns rave reviews for NHL debut at LCA". Detroit News. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  46. ^ Allen, Kevin. "NBC Sports broadcaster Mike Tirico to host NHL's Winter Classic and All-Star Game". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  47. ^ Editor, Kristian Hernández, Senior (January 2, 2020). "Live From 2020 Winter Classic: NBC Sports Turns Historic Cotton Bowl Into Hockey Heaven". Sports Video Group. Retrieved January 31, 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  48. ^ "NBC SPORTS PRESENTS 2020 BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC® FEATURING STARS & PREDATORS AT COTTON BOWL ON NEW YEAR'S DAY AT 1 P.M. ET ON NBC". NBC Sports Pressbox. December 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  49. ^ "Sunday Night Football: Mike Tirico to get some of Al Michaels' work". September 3, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  50. ^ "Why Mike Tirico is calling 'Sunday Night Football' instead of Al Michaels in Week 6 | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. October 17, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  51. ^ Lucia, Joe (January 8, 2021). "Mike Tirico will call Tampa Bay-Washington from home due to COVID-19 protocols". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  52. ^ Johnson, Ted (February 7, 2022). "NBC Sports' Mike Tirico Returning To U.S. From Beijing Earlier Than Planned; Will Cover Super Bowl From L.A. And Remainder Of Olympics From Stamford". Deadline. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  53. ^ Gardner, Steve (January 13, 2022). "NBC's Mike Tirico to anchor network's Olympic, Super Bowl coverage simultaneously". USA Today. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  54. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (January 13, 2022). "Mike Tirico will host Olympics from Beijing, then fly to LA for remote hosting and Super Bowl". Awful Announcing. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  55. ^ Farmer, Sam (July 16, 2004). "Michaels Is Mr. Monday Night". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  56. ^ Marla Ridenour (January 14, 2012). "Marla Ridenour: After time away in broadcasting, Zips coach Terry Bowden resumes his true calling - Top Stories". Ohio.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  57. ^ Kent, Milton (October 10, 1994). "ESPN has plenty on hand, little to say for Miami game". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  58. ^ Paulsen (January 25, 2007). "The ABCs of ruining the NBA, Part II". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  59. ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (June 24, 2004). "He's ready to mock this draft". Boston.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  60. ^ Scott, Jason (January 2, 2005). "On the record with Mike Tirico". Michigangolf.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  61. ^ "Duval and Woods". New York: NY Daily News. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.[dead link]
  62. ^ Pomin, Ernie (April 8, 2011). "The 2011 Masters, TV Schedule: Nick Faldo, Jim Nantz, Mike Tirico Highlight ESPN's Friday Coverage". SBNation Bay Area. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  63. ^ Hall, Andy (March 29, 2012). "Transcript of ESPN Masters Media Conference Call". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012.
  64. ^ Williams, Jim (March 22, 2007). "PTI: Tirico speaks out". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  65. ^ David, Marc (2002). "Sportscaster U". Syracuse University Magazine. Vol. 19, no. 2. p. 33.
  66. ^ Stern, Marlow (July 1, 2014). "World Cup Anchor Mike Tirico's Bizarre History: Reports of Stalking and Sexual Harassment". The Daily Beast.
  67. ^ Crockett, Stephen A. Jr. (July 17, 2017). "Wait, NBC Sports Announcer Mike Tirico Isn't Black?". The Root.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mike Tirico.
Preceded by Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer
2006–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by American television prime time anchor, Summer Olympic Games
2016–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by American television prime time anchor, Winter Olympic Games
2018–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Thursday Night Football play-by-play
2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sunday Night Football play-by-play
2022–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Lead NFL on NBC play-by-play announcer
2022–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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