Joe Tessitore | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tessitore in 2020 | |
| Born | (1971-07-22)July 22, 1971 (age 54) Schenectady,New York, U.S. |
| Education | Christian Brothers Academy |
| Alma mater | Boston College (BS) |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Employer(s) | ESPN WWE |
| Television | KXAS-TV;WRGB (1994–1995) WFSB (1995–2002) ABC andESPN (2002–present) |
| Spouse | Rebecca Tessitore |
| Children | 2 |
Joseph William Tessitore (born January 1, 1971) is an Americansportscaster forABC,ESPN andWWE. He leads ESPN's world championship fight broadcasts as the play-by-play broadcaster for Top Rank Boxing on ESPN and serves as a play-by-play announcer forHoley Moley on ABC alongside comedianRob Riggle and NBA starStephen Curry and announces college football on ESPN and ABC. In 2018 and 2019, Tessitore was also theplay-by-play broadcaster ofMonday Night Football, alongside formerDallas Cowboystight endJason Witten and formerTampa Bay Buccaneers andIndianapolis Coltsdefensive tackleBooger McFarland. Having been part of WWE since July 2024, he is currently the play-by-play commentator forRaw alongside former in-ring competitorWade Barrett.
Born and raised inSchenectady, New York, Tessitore completed his college preparatory studies atChristian Brothers Academy inAlbany, New York[1] He graduated from theBoston CollegeCarroll School of Management in 1993.[2][1]
Tessitore's broadcasting career began atKXAS-TV, anNBC affiliate in theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex. In 1994, he briefly moved toWRGB (CBS) inAlbany, New York before joiningWFSB (CBS) inHartford, Connecticut in 1995.[3] Tessitore took over the primarysports anchor role in 1997.[4]
In February 2002, Tessitore began callingboxing onESPN as part ofTuesday Night Fights andFriday Night Fights. Soon to follow, he was appearing onESPN College Football and college basketball broadcasts. In addition to his regular duties of football, horse racing and fights Joe has covered a wide array of sporting events for ESPN and is also a featured contributor for ESPN.com. Along withMonday Night Football he was also the lead broadcaster for college basketball's Super Tuesday on ESPN, and the SEC Basketball Tournament, where he was paired withDick Vitale andSean Farnham. Tessitore is widely regarded as one of the most versatile broadcasters at the network.
Tessitore spent many years anchoringABC/ESPN Horse Racing presentations includingThe Belmont Stakes and The Breeders’ Cup World Championships. In 2008, he was leading the ABC broadcast team when undefeated colt Big Brown failed to win horse racing's Triple Crown. In 2015 he was trackside anchoring Sportscenter's weeklong coverage ofAmerican Pharoah's history making win. Tessitore also was ESPN's host/anchor when famed race horse Zenyatta's unbeaten streak was stopped. The champion filly was defeated in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Tessitore has produced documentaries for ESPN's award-winning30 for 30 series. In 2011 he was the executive producer of the ESPN FilmRoll Tide, War Eagle. In 2012 he was the consulting producer on ESPN's 30 for 30 featuringBo Jackson.
For five years Tessitore was the host of ESPN's live New Year's Eve specials, including RedBull New Year, No Limits, and the debut of ESPN's Year of the Quarterback.
Previous to joiningMonday Night Football, Tessitore was the lead play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN's Saturday Night College Football Primetime Game and the College Football Playoff. He appeared in the booth alongside veteran broadcasterTodd Blackledge as part of ESPN's coverage of college football. Tessitore and his primetime crew were honored for their work, including being chosen by Sports Illustrated as the 2016 Broadcast Team of the Year.[5]
Previously, Tessitore also served in the play-by-play role for ESPN'sThursday Night Football and was host ofSEC Nation paired withTim Tebow and Paul Finebaum. He also has hosted ESPN'sCollege Football Final,College Football Live, variousSportscenter specials and has long been a fixture on ESPN's presentation of theHeisman Trophy, as he is considered the leading expert on the trophy and its voting history. Tessitore is the host of ESPN's extensive coverage of National Signing Day. He has been the broadcaster of multipleOrange Bowls, thePeach Bowl, and theSugar Bowl broadcast team. He has worked play-by-play for theBCS Championship onESPN 3D and is the lead broadcaster for ESPN's Megacast Homers edition of College Football's National Championship Games.
Tessitore has been honored for his on-air work.Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has twice named him a finalist for Sports Media Person of the Year. On January 18, 2010, he accepted an Eclipse Award on behalf of his ESPN production team for theirBelmont Stakes broadcast onABC. On June 4, 2010, the Boxing Writers of America presented Tessitore with the prestigious Sam Taub award for Broadcast Excellence. The Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame included Tessitore in their 2010 class of inductees.
Since 2004, Tessitore has been the voice for the top sellingFight Night video game series produced by EA Sports. He also played himself in three national commercials forDr. Pepper which aired extensively through fall of 2016 and winter of 2017. Tessitore’s distinct voice-over work has been used in several feature films, includingAnnapolis,The Break-Up, plus numerous television programs. He has also appeared in the television dramaThe Dead Zone acting as himself in an episode.
In 2017, he became the co-host of ABC'sBattle of the Network Stars, a reboot of theHoward Cosell led celebrity classic from the 1970s and 80s.[6]
Starting in 2019, Tessitore became the head play-by-play commentator forABC’sHoley Moley.
In a 2021 episode ofCelebrityWheel of Fortune aired nationally on ABC, Tessitore competed with fellow Holey Moley castRob Riggle andJeannie Mai, winning $57,350 towards his selected charity of Wide Horizons For Children.
On July 9, 2024,WWE announced that Tessitore had signed with the company and would start working as a play-by-play commentator later in the summer. The deal keeps Tessitore employed by ABC and ESPN.[7] As of September 2, 2024, he was the lead announcer forRaw working alongsideWade Barrett. Starting January 10, 2025, Tessitore and Barrett were moved toSmackDown in a company-wide commentary team revamp.[8] They later swapped again back to Raw to accommodate Tessitore's college football schedule.
In August 2012, he was the subject of an extensive feature story titled, "Tessitore becoming major voice of college football, one upset at a time", written by Stewart Mandel.[9] His call proclaiming "Texas is back, folks!" at the end of a thrillingLonghorns overtime victory overNotre Dame in 2016 became the subject of an Internet meme mocking the Longhorns after the team experienced subsequent struggles.[10]
Not all reviews of Tessitore's announcing, especially onMNF, have been positive. John Teti wrote that "Tessitore is a merchant of schmaltz... Clichés are a given in football announcing, but few commentators imbue NFL banalities with the portentous sentimentality that Tessitore brings to bear."[11]TheGuardian wrote that "Tessitore sounds like a condescending try-hard."[12] The unpopularity of Tessitore andBooger McFarland with viewers and critics alike led to their removal fromMonday Night Football before the 2020 season.[13]
Tessitore is ofItalian descent and is a member of the National Italian American Foundation. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the ConnecticutCystic Fibrosis Foundation,[14][15] as well as the founder of the annual Sportscasters' SuperBall for CF Research.[16]Tessitore and his wife Rebecca have two children, both of whom have been involved in collegiate sports. His son, John, was formerly akicker atBoston College[17] while his daughter, Nicolina, playedsquash for theVirginia Cavaliers.[18]
| Preceded by | Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer 2018–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Raw Lead Announcer 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | SmackDown Lead Announcer 2025–present | Succeeded by current |
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