Rece Davis | |
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 Davis in 2024 | |
| Born | William Laurece Davis 1965 or 1966 (age 60–61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Alabama (BA) |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genres |
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| Sports | |
| Employer | ESPN |
William Laurece Davis (born 1965 or 1966)[1][2] is an American sports televisionjournalist forESPN/ABC. Davis works as an anchor onSportsCenter and serves as host of various other programs on the network, includingCollege GameDay football road show andbasketball show. Since 2021, he has been ESPN's lead host forinternational soccer events.
Davis was born inChicago, Illinois, and was raised inMuscle Shoals, Alabama.[1] Davis graduated in 1988 from theUniversity of Alabama, earning Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Broadcast News and Public Affairs. While a student at Alabama, Davis regularly worked as a freelance television play-by-play announcer, studio host, and radio personality in select media outlets throughout the state, all positions that were primarily unpaid internships. In 1987, Davis began working as a general assignment reporter forWCFT-TV inTuscaloosa, Alabama. In 2001, Davis was named as an outstanding alumnus of the University of Alabama's School of Communication and Information Sciences.[3]
After graduating from Alabama, Davis served until 1993 in various positions atWRBL inColumbus, Georgia. At WRBL, Davis worked as a sports reporter, the lead weekend news anchor, and later as WRBL's sports director.
In 1993, Davis left Georgia forFlint, Michigan. Davis began working as a sports anchor and reporter atWJRT-TV, a position where the young journalist would quickly garner the attention ofESPN.
Davis left WJRT and Flint in March 1995 forBristol, Connecticut. He began working for theESPN2 programSportSmash, where he provided five-minute reports on sports news and scores. Davis hosted ESPN2'sNBA 2Night in 1996 and 1997. From 1997 through 1999, Davis served as studio host of ESPN2's weekendRPM 2Night and Sunday morningRPM 2Day programs. Davis went on to anchor the programSportsCenter, alongside a number of other ESPN personalities. Davis also frequently gave the "Extra Point" report ofThe Dan Patrick Show onESPN Radio, and from time to time was a guest host on the program.
Davis works onSportsCenter,college football andcollege basketball for the network. Previously, Davis hostedhorse racing telecasts during theTriple Crown season.
Davis was formerly the regular season host ofCollege Football Live which airs daily during college football season and has served as the studio anchor ofCollege GameDay football show andCollege Football Final. He is also the host of theCollege GameDay basketball road show.[3]
From 2006 to 2009, he was one of the hosts forABC's coverage of the2006 FIFA World Cup and the lead host ofUEFA Euro 2008 and2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He returned to soccer as the host ofUEFA Euro 2020 on ESPN/ABC.[4][5][6]
On February 5, 2015, ESPN announced Davis signed a multi-year contract with the network through 2021 that included taking over as host of theCollege GameDay football road show in2015 forChris Fowler, who had hosted the show since 1990. The deal also sees Davis discontinue hisESPN College Football Thursday Primetime duties but continue his weekly basketball play-by-play role.[7]
Davis said of his work at ESPN, "I don't think of my job as being hard. I know I'm the luckiest guy around. I get to watch basketball and talk about it. When you never feel as if you go to work, it's really easy and fun to do the homework."[8]
Davis is aChristian.[9][10] He is married to Leigh Davis. They have one son and one daughter.[11]
...I just turned 45...
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