All sorts of television news has been announced lately, and part of that, is who will be calling the college football games in the fall, and on which network. Brent Musburger is one that will be making a change.
Brent Musburger has been calling games on ABC for a long time, but is now set to switch to the SEC Network. Fans who have become used to seeing him call the “Saturday Night Football” games on ABC with Kirk Herbstreit will now see Chris Fowler, who hosts ESPN’s College Gameday, replacing Musburger.
Some of the biggest games of the season happen on Saturday night, and while Brent Musburger will no longer be calling them, perhaps it is time for a younger guy to take over. The newly launched SEC Network will be available starting on August 22nd, just in time for the 2014 college football season.
Musburger will serve as the lead college football commentator during the 2014 season on the network, along with Jesse Palmer. Before joining the SEC Network, he has established himself as a Hall Of Fame sportscaster, and he is also a former quarterback for Florida, making him feel at home with the SEC.
Brent Musburger's new deal will ESPN is a three-year deal. Takes him through his 78th birthday.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) March 12, 2014
Speaking on the opportunity to join the SEC Network, and call games with Jesse Palmer, Musburger said “‘I’m delighted to be staying with ESPN, thrilled to be able to call the best football conference in the nation every week and am really looking forward to working with Jesse, who I covered while he was at Florida. Jesse has tremendous football knowledge, knows this league very well and does his homework.”
While his name may not be known as well as some other sports commentators such as Jay Bilas or Kirk Herbstreit, Brent Musburger is one of the most recognized voices in the history of college sports on television. In addition to his extensive work with college football, he also works as a play-by-play announcer for Big 12 men’s basketball games across ESPN networks.
Despite being a brand new entity, the SEC and ESPN have a 20-year agreement through 2034 to create and operate a multiplatform network. Another former player from Florida, Tim Tebow, has also been hired as a commentator for the network, after he was unable to have success in the NFL.
Brent Musburger & Jesse Palmer are the lead broadcast team for the soon-to-launch SEC Network….what a killer duo.
— Jeffrey lulay (@JLulay36) March 13, 2014
Sad to hear that Brent Musburger will no longer be doing ABC Primetime college football. One of the all time greats. #YouAreLookingLive
— Adam Loewy (@Adam_Loewy) March 13, 2014
Brent Musburger will call his first game for the network with Jesse Palmer on August 28th, when Texas A&M meets South Carolina in the first meeting between the two SEC powerhouses in 2014.
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