<section class="container"><article> In a perfect sports television world, ESPN would clone Rece Davis so he could serve as the studio host on a variety of sports. As viewers witnessed during the NBA Draft, Davis is a broadcaster at the top of his craft, an always-prepared professional who understands how to drive a show without making it about him.
āMy goal whenever I am hosting a studio show is I want the people at home watching to be involved in our conversation,ā Davis said. āI have shared with [colleague] Jay Bilas many times regarding the shows that I host that I want us all to have a conversation and I want us all to interject. Interjection when someone is talking is conversational. Interruption is rude. I want to get away from interruptions because I think it is off-putting to the viewer. But I do want people to chime in and go back and forth.ā
Davis will once again call college football Thursday nights this fall and heāll also be the only palatable part of the Saturday studio show featuring Lou Holtz and Mark May. Then comes college basketball season and hosting the traveling College GameDay circus. He says college football remains his love above all, and though heād be a perfect fit to host NBA Countdown, it would weaken ESPN where it has a significant strength.
āI like all sports but the two that I love the most, I am fortunate to cover and work on,ā Davis said. āI grew up in Alabama where college football rules, and I love college football and college basketball. The most difficult thing for me in my career will be at some point giving up that college football Saturday. I love spending that day in the studio and having an impact on the discussion as it relates to the sport. The thing that drives the boat for me at this juncture of my career is college football. I want as big a role as possible.ā
On that note, Davis said he wants to be heavily involved in ESPNās coverage of the 2014 BCS playoffs. He knows he is unlikely to get a game-calling assignment but wants as big a studio role as possible. āLook, I have a friend ā and one of the best guys in the business with Chris (Fowler) ā who is going to have a huge role and I completely understand that,ā Davis said. āBut with our level of coverage there is going to be a lot to do. I certainly donāt want it to be perceived that I am trying to elbow anybody out of the way. I understand what Chris has accomplished and the level of his expertise. But I want to have as much a part of this as I can.ā
Davisās current contract with ESPN expires at the end of the Final Four in 2015, which will make him a 20-year employee at ESPN. Every sports network would be wise to make a run at him but he speaks like a man unlikely to leave Bristol.
āWhen you have been at a place as long as I have, there is a loyalty, a sense of belonging and a sense of pride that goes with working there,ā Davis said. āOur business is completely uncertain and everyone understands that, and speaking from a management standpoint, anyone can change their mind on anybody and at any point in time.
I donāt think it is wise to deal in absolutes but I will say this: I feel like I am extremely loyal to ESPN and they have been great to me. I recall something Keith Jackson said a long time ago. He said the number one thing a sportscaster needs is inventory and in the sports that I work, who has better than ESPN? I hope the future will be as mutually beneficial as it has been the past 18 years.ā
Sportsillustrated.com: Click to see a list of Deitsch's best announcers...
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āMy goal whenever I am hosting a studio show is I want the people at home watching to be involved in our conversation,ā Davis said. āI have shared with [colleague] Jay Bilas many times regarding the shows that I host that I want us all to have a conversation and I want us all to interject. Interjection when someone is talking is conversational. Interruption is rude. I want to get away from interruptions because I think it is off-putting to the viewer. But I do want people to chime in and go back and forth.ā
Davis will once again call college football Thursday nights this fall and heāll also be the only palatable part of the Saturday studio show featuring Lou Holtz and Mark May. Then comes college basketball season and hosting the traveling College GameDay circus. He says college football remains his love above all, and though heād be a perfect fit to host NBA Countdown, it would weaken ESPN where it has a significant strength.
āI like all sports but the two that I love the most, I am fortunate to cover and work on,ā Davis said. āI grew up in Alabama where college football rules, and I love college football and college basketball. The most difficult thing for me in my career will be at some point giving up that college football Saturday. I love spending that day in the studio and having an impact on the discussion as it relates to the sport. The thing that drives the boat for me at this juncture of my career is college football. I want as big a role as possible.ā
On that note, Davis said he wants to be heavily involved in ESPNās coverage of the 2014 BCS playoffs. He knows he is unlikely to get a game-calling assignment but wants as big a studio role as possible. āLook, I have a friend ā and one of the best guys in the business with Chris (Fowler) ā who is going to have a huge role and I completely understand that,ā Davis said. āBut with our level of coverage there is going to be a lot to do. I certainly donāt want it to be perceived that I am trying to elbow anybody out of the way. I understand what Chris has accomplished and the level of his expertise. But I want to have as much a part of this as I can.ā
Davisās current contract with ESPN expires at the end of the Final Four in 2015, which will make him a 20-year employee at ESPN. Every sports network would be wise to make a run at him but he speaks like a man unlikely to leave Bristol.
āWhen you have been at a place as long as I have, there is a loyalty, a sense of belonging and a sense of pride that goes with working there,ā Davis said. āOur business is completely uncertain and everyone understands that, and speaking from a management standpoint, anyone can change their mind on anybody and at any point in time.
I donāt think it is wise to deal in absolutes but I will say this: I feel like I am extremely loyal to ESPN and they have been great to me. I recall something Keith Jackson said a long time ago. He said the number one thing a sportscaster needs is inventory and in the sports that I work, who has better than ESPN? I hope the future will be as mutually beneficial as it has been the past 18 years.ā
Sportsillustrated.com: Click to see a list of Deitsch's best announcers...
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