Chris Fowler (born )
is an American sports
broadcaster for
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, who serves as the play-by-play announcer for ''
Saturday Night Football'' on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and ESPN’s
tennis coverage. He is also known for his work on ''
College GameDay'', which he hosted between 1990 and 2014, and for
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
.
In 2014, he replaced
Brent Musburger as the play-by-play announcer for ''
Saturday Night Football'' on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, having him on ESPN's top announcing team alongside fellow College Gameday's
Kirk Herbstreit
Kirk Edward Herbstreit (; born August 19, 1969) is an American sportscaster and former college football player. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's '' College GameDay'', a television program covering college football, and he also provides color ...
; this meant he would also be selected to announce one of the two
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
semifinal games and the
College Football National Championship
A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best co ...
.
Early life and education
Fowler grew up in Rockford, Illinois
and State College, Pennsylvania where his father, Knox, was a theater professor at
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
. When he was a teenager, his family moved back to Colorado and he graduated from
General William J. Palmer High School
General William J. Palmer High School, commonly referred to as Palmer High School (PHS), is a public high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship high school of Colorado Springs School District 11, School District ...
in Colorado Springs in 1980.
Fowler graduated from the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
in 1985 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree. While a student, Fowler served as a producer and co-host for a weekly magazine program aired over a cable television system in
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...
from 1983 to 1985. He also spent two years as sports director at KAIR-AM, the university's radio station. From 1982 to 1984, he covered high school sports for the ''
Rocky Mountain News
The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
''.
Career
![2009-0912-GameDay-FowlerHoward](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/2009-0912-GameDay-FowlerHoward.jpg)
Prior to joining ESPN, Fowler spent nearly two years at
KCNC-TV
KCNC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios on Lincoln Street (between ...
, then the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
affiliate in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, as a production assistant, a producer/writer and as a sports reporter. In 1984, he worked for several months at
KMGH-TV
KMGH-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Sterling-licensed independent station KCDO-TV, channel 3 (and its Denver-licensed translat ...
in the same city as an intern in the sports department.
Fowler joined
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
in July 1986 as the host/reporter of ''Scholastic Sports America'', a stint which lasted two years. In 1988, he began serving as a college football sideline reporter for two seasons. While on the college football beat, Fowler conducted an exclusive interview with former star
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
quarterback
Charles Thompson, who was in prison at the time on drug charges.
He began as host of the ''
College GameDay'' football road show in 1990 and expanded to ESPN's other Saturday college football segments in 1991.
After
Charles Woodson won the
1997 Heisman Trophy over
Tennessee's Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
, Tennessee fans blamed ESPN and in particular, Fowler, who had emceed the award ceremony and handed the trophy to Woodson. Fowler received abuse from Tennessee fans (and he described the reaction as "trailer park frenzy" on a radio show), and ''GameDay'' avoided shooting on the Tennessee campus for several years that followed.
![091507-USCNeb-ChrisFowler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/091507-USCNeb-ChrisFowler.jpg)
In February 2015, ESPN announced
Rece Davis
Rece Davis (born }) is an American sports television journalist for ESPN/ ABC. Davis works as an anchor on '' SportsCenter'' and serves as host of various other programs on the network, including '' College GameDay'' football road show and ba ...
will take over for Fowler as host of ''GameDay'', but that Fowler will continue his play-by-play role on ''
Saturday Night Football'' on ABC and
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
games, and as host of the annual
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
presentations.
Until 2006, he was also the lead studio host of ''
College Basketball on ESPN
''ESPN College Basketball'' is a blanket title used for presentations of college basketball on ESPN and its family of networks. Its coverage focuses primarily on competition in NCAA Division I, holding broadcast rights to games from each major c ...
''. Fowler has also worked with ESPN's Summer
X Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
from 1995 to 2000 and the Winter X Games from 1998 to 2000 as well as
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
broadcasts, including the
Breeders Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...
World Thoroughbred Championship on ESPN. In addition, he serves as the head play-by-play for
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
tournaments broadcast on ESPN, including
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
,
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
,
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
and for the
US Open being broadcast for the first year in 2009 on ESPN. In 2010, he anchored, along with
Mike Tirico, ESPN's and ABC's month-long coverage of the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. In 2020, Fowler announced the first game of the ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
'' Kickoff Week doubleheader alongside Kirk Herbstreit.
He is also the host of the
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%).
The channel was originally l ...
show ''
SportsCentury
''SportsCentury'' is an ESPN biography television program that reviews the people and events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Using stock footage, on-camera interviews, and photographs of their athletic l ...
''.
He was the host of the Seattle Kraken's expansion draft coverage which was the first ESPN hockey event with the NHL since 2004. During the telecast he would make an regrettable error in calling the Carolina Hurricanes the “Carolina Panthers”. This led to both teams Twitter accounts switching logos mocking him.
Along with fellow College Gameday hosts
Lee Corso
Lee Richard Corso (born August 7, 1935) is an American sports broadcaster and football analyst for ESPN and a former coach. He has been a featured analyst on ESPN's '' College GameDay'' program since its inception in 1987. Corso served as the he ...
and
Desmond Howard
Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior. Howard w ...
, in 2007 Fowler broadcast College Gameday from
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
for its homecoming game against
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
, the first and only time College Gameday has covered a Division III game. Fowler has called the experience, and Williams' tradition of "The Walk" up Spring Street following a victory over Amherst, "one of the best traditions in college football." Fowler joined the Williams football players in St. Pierre barbershop following the game to celebrate Williams' victory.
Personal life
Fowler is married to former fitness model/instructor Jennifer Dempster, who appeared on ESPN in the 1990s on the show ''
BodyShaping
''BodyShaping'' is an American fitness and exercise television series that has shown on ESPN, with segments on weight training, cardiovascular exercise, stretching and nutrition. It was in production from 1988 to 1998, and has been in reruns ever ...
''.
References
External links
*
Chris Fowler ESPN Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Chris
Living people
American horse racing announcers
American soccer commentators
American television sports announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
College football announcers
ESPN people
Tennis commentators
University of Colorado alumni
University of Colorado Boulder alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)