Joe Tessitore

Joe Tessitore was an American sports commentator born in Schenectady, New York, in 1971. Tessitore attended Boston College, from which he graduated in 1993 with a degree in marketing. He actually began his broadcasting career working at KXAS, an NBC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, in 1991. In 1994, Tessitore joined WFSB (CBS) in Hartford, Connecticut, and became the station's primary sports anchor in 1997. He joined ESPN in 2002, beginning his tenure calling boxing "Tuesday Night Fights" and "Friday Night Fights"; Tessitore was also the commentary voice for EA Sport's "Fight Night" video game series. He was most famously associated with college football commentary, where his excitable calling was dubbed "The Tess Effect" and was heard during numerous bowls and playoff games. Tessitore also called horse racing, most famously during the Triple Crown races, and many other sports and special events. In 2016, Tessitore joined the primetime Saturday night college football coverage team. He also co-hosted the rebooted "Battle of the Network Stars" (ABC, 2017- ), which saw TV stars compete in sporting activities and events.