Joe Tessitore

Commentator

Play-by-Play Commentator

Joe_Tess

Few ESPN broadcasters have more varied scheduled assignments than Joe Tessitore. As the longstanding blow-by-blow commentator for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, Tessitore plays a major role in one of ESPN2’s most successful series. Through the years he has established himself as a fixture in college football as well.  Football fans know Tessitore through his distinctive play-by-play work and as the face of ESPN’s “Heismanology.”  Tessitore is also the lead host of ESPN’s horse racing coverage, including The Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Over the last four years Tessitore has been the host of ESPN’s live New Year’s Eve specials, both Red Bull New Year No Limits and the Year of the Quarterback initiative. Tessitore is also a featured contributor for ESPN.com.

In the 2010 football season, Tessitore served as a college football commentator on the new ESPN 3D network.  Among his most notable recent assignments, Tessitore teamed up with Todd Blackledge and Tim Brown to call the BCS National Championship Game on ESPN 3D.

Tessitore was honored three times for his on air work in 2010. He accepted an Eclipse Award for ESPN’s 2009 Belmont Stakes telecast on ABC and 2010 Breeders’ Cup.  On June 4, the Boxing Writers of America presented Tessitore with the prestigious Sam Taub award for Broadcast Excellence.  In addition, on October 30 the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame included Tessitore in their 2010 class of inductees.

Since 2004, Tessitore has been the voice for the top selling “Fight Night” video game series produced by EA Sports. He is part of Ring Magazine’s rankings panel, as well as being a voter for the Heisman Trophy.

Tessitore joined ESPN in February 2002. The previous eight years, Tessitore made his mark as the sports anchor at WFSB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Hartford.  In his spare time, Tessitore has given tireless and generous fundraising efforts to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation.  He began his career in 1991 at KXAS, the NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth and in 1994 joined WRGB, the CBS affiliate in Albany NY.

The Schenectady, N.Y., native was graduated from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College in 1993.

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